This marks an enormous progression from the Cremations compilation released earlier this year: there are no sound experiments or atmospheric interludes here, just killer noise-ravaged synthpop. Cold Cave's proper full-length debut (on Wes Eisold's own Heartworm Press) was well worth the wait. Also, it is amusing to note that some of the most memorable and danceable indie pop songs of the year involve Dominick Fernow of Prurient.
Heartworm Press
This brief album clocks in at around 30 minutes and contains only nine songs but at least a third of them achieve EBM near-perfection. Eisold vocalizes his caustic lyrics with a world-weary conviction that favorably reminds me of all of the best British post-punk bands, but the darkness and catharsis is transformed into something accessible and non-oppressive through memorable melodies, catchy synth hooks, and charmingly naïve drum machine beats. The title cut is a great example of the artful union of bleak intensity and shameless embrace of '80s dance music that makes Cold Cave such a likeable band: Eisold’s lovelorn melancholia is beautifully enhanced by former Hatebreed guitarist Sean Martin’s C86-style jangling, a relentless pounding beat, burbling keyboards, and warm and deceptively simple synthesizer chords.
"The Trees Grew Emotions and Died" is similarly propulsive and unrelentingly catchy. Xiu Xiu’s Caralee McElroy and Eisold share vocal duties over a foundation of rumbling bass and impossibly thick and anthemic synth hooks. It also prominently features a somewhat harsh guitar solo, which is an unsubtle example of another aspect of Cold Cave’s excellence: despite strongly adhering to pop song conventions and featuring big dance beats, there is an omnipresent menacing hiss, ugliness, and distortion lurking beneath it all. While rarely being in the foreground, this noise element is enormously important to Eisold’s aesthetic. Consequently, Cold Cave songs have a damaged, dark, and heavy feel that bears almost no resemblance to slickly-produced precursors like OMD, Yaz, or the Human League, despite being superficially built upon similar foundations.
My favorite song on the album is probably "Youth and Lust," which marries gorgeously lush minor key synth chords, alternating male/female vocals, a insistent thumping beat, and an irresistible keyboard riff. The rest of the album is pretty solid, but hopelessly eclipsed by the aforementioned three songs. Had they been included on Cremations, "Cebe and Me," "I.C.D.K.," and "Heaven Was Full" would have all been standouts, but the high points of Love Comes Close are on a completely different level.
Love Comes Close captures the sound of an excellent band accelerating rapidly towards their prime and features some of the best songs that will be released this year. It is rare for me to be this enthusiastic about a new band, but I had unreasonably high expectations for this album and they were largely met anyway. It's worth noting that some of Eisold’s pre-Cold Cave bedroom electro-pop recordings have just been released this month as well (Ye Olde Maids’ God Blesses Us, Mother Dresses Us).
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