"Simply beautiful" - Sunday Times "Positively spellbinding and downright possessed" - NME "Mind your back Laura Marling" - Time Out "A voice that makes your knees quiver… haunting" - The Fly "Haunting and healing in equal measures" - The Guardian "Haunting doom-laden soul" - Vouge "Compelling, old-fashioned and timeless" - The Observer Cold Specks is songwriter and vocalist Al Spx from Etobicoke, Canada, who now lives in London. The band's name is taken from a line in James Joyce's 'Ulysses': "Born all in the dark wormy earth, cold specks of fire, evil, lights shining in the darkness". Describing her sound as 'Doom Soul', Cold Specks' music is steeped in the musical traditions of the Deep South. No wonder then that Al cites the Lomax Field Recordings and James Carr as influences along with Bill Callahan and Tom Waits. With a voice that evokes the 'spirit feel' of Mahalia Jackson and the visceral tones of Sister Rosetta Tharpe, Cold Specks' sparse arrangements and chain gang rhythms stop you dead in your tracks.
