Cold Court’s debut EP is an infectious, glitchy genre mashup

Cold Court are two brothers and sisters from Philly who seem to love nothing more than to shove everything they’re doing into a messy soup that resembles the hyperpop you’d expect from something like 100 Gecs. But, while songs like “Dumbest Girl Alive” poke fun at pop punk and emo, Cold Court is more serious, and that’s not necessarily a bad thing.

The opening track on the band’s debut EP \ (^_^) / (aka Hands Up), “Nina”, is starting to sound not unlike the punk dance groups that shot events in the midst of difficulties like Franz Ferdinand or Test Icicles. But everything starts to change after a minute, when a skuzzy riff is cut and fed through the repetition. A moment later, there is a soft bridge reminiscent of Mars Volta. Then the whole thing ends in glitches and digital confusion.

The story goes on like this. The music is on Hands Up clearly started life on drums and guitar. But then Mini and Jojo fed their creations into the computer, adding layers, rearranging the pieces, and piling on the results. The single “Burn” is probably the best example of all the parts coming together. It features heavy rock, Daft Punk-esque synths, dubstep chops, independent vocals, and a choppy bridge. Yet it all sounds like a cohesive, beautiful scene as he shouts, “I just want to see it burn, give it your voice.”

It’s not a very deep word, but it works.

Despite Cold Court’s track record, not every song is as big as “Burn.” “Cola” moves slowly, removes some layers, but does not lower the volume. “Glass” almost turns into math rock as its guitars are cut and spat, and EP closer “Light” is unleashed, a project of pure brilliance.

Over the course of the entire album, the constant noise can become tiresome. But at just 21 minutes, Hands Up doesn’t last long, and it will be interesting to see how the band evolves as the duo matures.