Not good,. not bad, just unoriginal.
Phil Campbell may share his name with a Motorhead member but his music occupies a very different sphere. Born in Scotland to a lay preacher father and hymn writer grandparents Phil detached himself from the religious way of life in the mid 1990s and recorded an album, 'Fresh New Life' on EMI. After parting company from the record company he wrote a new album, 'Joy' (from which 'Cold Engines' is signed to) and became signed to Charisma.
'Cold Engines' is a straightforward acoustic not-really-fast but not-quite-slow ditty powered by strumming guitars and Phil's slightly whiny and faked-heartfelt vocals; its inevitable slow intro built into a marginally louder and faster chorus, then rounded off with a couple of less stripped down verses and chorus reprisals. There isn't even a b-side to prove whether Mr Campbell is capable of anything more original – just a second, longer, version of the title track. Phil Campbell appears to display less desperation to break into the pop singer-songwriter market than James Blunt or David Gray did in their early days, but a new Damien Rice or Rufus Wainwright he is not. The problem with being this middle of the road is that it's inevitable you'll get run over sooner or later.