Cold Cave

Love Comes Close

(Matador)

Cold Cave’s debut album Love Come Close is so refreshingly interesting, that it’s almost sad that it came out at the end of 2009; it probably would have made more top 10 lists had it come out mid-Fall, when everyone is readying their best records of the year (a little too early for my liking). Still, it made mine, so no pity party over here.

A mesmerizing combination of New Order/Joy Division influences and the post-hardcore sounds of singer Wes Eisgold, an easy way to describe the band would be electro-synth-pop. What is so fascinating about this record is how every song manages to stand out, yet the album as a whole is so cohesive.

This is seen best by their extremely catchy single, “Life Magazine.” Probably one of the best singles of the year, this is actually not exemplary of the rest of the album; while all the songs are catchy in their own way, they are a bit darker. The layers of synth are heavy all around, but “Life Magazine” sounds much more like a pop tune than anything else. Not ironically, this is the most uplifting-sounding song title of the bunch. With a song called “The Laurels of Erotomania,” it’s hard to imagine it being super-upbeat (although it is quite a good song!). The title track is a funky dance number, and Eisgold sounds especially like Ian Curtis, and the album ends of a funky, swirly synth track called “I.C.D.C.K.”

Admittedly, if you listen to Cold Cave a few times in the right setting, the album might sound like the soundtrack to a really weird '80s dance party. At some points the subject matter is rather somber, but overall it is a definite good time. Everything flows together nicely, and it’s not hard to enjoy on even a basic level. It is tempting to describe the band as “quirky” but this would be too easy, because Cold Cave transcends normal genre definitions. Love Comes Close is a recommended listen but don’t expect the ordinary.