Review by Dave G. Martin.
Before I review their single for you, I will give you a little information about the band.
Blanco Negra are a 3 piece sleaze / punk / rock n roll band from Wolverhampton in the West Midlands. Influences include The Wildhearts, Dogs D’Amour, Motorhead, AC/DC, The New York Dolls and Guns N’ Roses.
Beginning life as a duo featuring Dave McCarthy (Lead vocals / Guitar) and Gayna McCarthy (Drums / Percussion / Vocals), they became a three piece in 2023 when Anne Blakemore joined the band on Bass Guitar and backing vocals.
They have been gigging extensively as a three piece since October 2023 and to date have released an EP, The Sunshine Girl EP, which is available on Bandcamp, Amazon Music, Spotify and other online streaming services.
They will be releasing their debut album, Smile! You’re Not Dead Yet, in February 2026 which features the new single Hard Cold Lover. The album has been produced By Dave Draper (The Wildhearts, Michael Monroe, Gypsy Pistoleros) at The Old Cider Press Studio in Evesham. The single Hard Cold Lover will be released to all streaming services and will also be available on Bandcamp from December 5th 2025.
Anne Blakemore is no longer a member of Blanco Negra since October 2025. Matt Dooner will be joining Blanco Negra on Bass duties.
The single Hard Cold Lover is a song written about lust at first sight, meeting a wild person and falling hard for them. You then realise that you’ve fallen too fast for this person and given too much too soon and you will never hear from them again
It starts with a rousing Rock N Roll riff intro from Dave, his raspy growling voice bringing a wonderful sleazy feel with skin smashing Gayna accompanying him on the choruses.
It has a powerful driving beat running through it, with Gayna and Anne keeping the punchy groove of the song going to the end.
This is for fans of vintage rock and roll and the heavy influences of Ginger’s Wildhearts and Tyla’s Dogs are there for all to hear.
You get an impressive middle eight axe solo from Dave, and I can see this being a very popular song at live gigs with the anthemic sing along vibe.
Hard Cold Lover is released on December the fifth, so don’t be a Scrooge and go and add this to your Xmas list.
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