The Cold Stares

CRITIC'S PICK
Thurs., June 18

The Cold Stares, Aisle 5 - This Evansville, Indiana, blues rocking trio used to be a raw, stripped-down twosome of just guitar and drums. Adding a bassist a few years ago hasn't diluted that edgy approach. Their recent album, Texas, finds frontman guitarist/songwriter Chris Tapp hitting his peak in terms of songwriting, singing and arrangement, bringing soul, Delta-styled blues, and even some edgy pop to their more hard-hitting, power trio style. He gets some funk in too, as on the pulsating "Possessed." But these guys catch fire when nailing riff-based corkers like "Can't Hold Out Much Longer" and the gutsy "Out of Love," two standouts from the new disc. It's somewhere around the outfit's eighth and arguably finest release. - Hal Horowitz