Simon Aldred has always been an incurable romantic with a rich and cinematic sound and vision, but his new solo project Out Cold presents another side to the man – more intimate, playful and honest, and frankly, more romantic.The sound of his superb new album Invasion Of Love, recorded with Ash Workman (Metronomy \u002F NZCA Lines) is also a breakthrough for Aldred. The 11 tracks tap both influences born primarily from sixties Motown, seventies Philadelphia and eighties New York and London, from blue-eyed soul to electronic-pop produced by analogue synths and drum machines, with guitar stitched into the seductively silken mood. Aldred’s typically distinguished baritone has also found a more relaxed and lighter mood, to suit the material.The origins of the album formed after the Bolton-born Aldred and his band put together the second Cherry Ghost album, 2010’s Beneath This Burning Shoreline and finished touring the record. Aldred knew it was time again to think about a new record, “but the pattern of strumming a guitar felt really flat, I didn’t want to make another miserable Northern record! The last album, I was plucking quotes from Chekhov and film noir, so I wanted to give myself a little break. I could have easily made an acoustic troubadour-style album, and I had half that written, but it shouldn’t be that easy.”