Ah, Cold Cave. What a depressing looking bunch! Not since the eighty's has the independent music scene seen such a somber set of individuals.
Not surprisingly, Cold Cave owe's much of their sound to their 80's new wave spiritual brethren. Their latest album, ironically named "Cherish the Light Years", brings to mind bands like the Cure, Joy Division and the Smiths, not just in terms of sound but also in terms of lyrics. "I feel guilty being alive, when so many beautiful people have died," front-man Wesley Eisold croons on "Confetti", arguably the best song on the album. Doomed romance, bleak despair, all of these things are recurring issues for Eisold, who can't seem to get a grip on where he's going, or who hes looking for. "I don't think we're meant for this world", the opening track "The Great Pan is Dead" laments. The theme of isolation is the most prevalent throughout the album, as it was for Cold Cave's influences.
As for the music itself, it veers slightly more towards the newer electro pop side then bands like Joy Division would have been comfortable with. The sound is melancholy, the synths jumpy and the guitar low pitched and quick. So how do they shake the obvious Joy Division comparison? Simply a more modern sounding group, just as depressing but not quick as grounded in post-punk. Cold Cave is immediately catchy, a lot of Joy Division isn't. In "Cherish the Light Years", Eisold hits a little quicker, comes at the listener more directly then Ian Curtis did.
The album isn't without blunders. "Alchemy and You" is to blunt and to loud for the sound Cold Cave is going for. Indeed, the entire album is mastered very strangely. It's far louder then it should be, and while the music itself is intimate and begging for companionship, the volume of the record can repel the gentle, lonely listener. These mistakes can be forgiven, as "Cherish the Light Years", is a very good album, full of the pain and angst that drives so many adolescents to go to liberal arts colleges and only calling their parents once a month to ask for money.
Here are my favorite two tracks from the album.
Confetti - Cold Cave
Cold Cave - Confetti by Vicente EDPMC
The Great Pan is Dead - Cold Cave
Cold Cave - The Great Pan Is Dead by artsandcraftsmx
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