There are many billboards of the picture of their album cover in my neighborhood, this black and white picture of of veiled man wearing lipstick with the red bold letters COLD CAVE at the top, and when I saw that the band was doing a free show at Space 1520 on Thursday night, I decided to check what the hype was all about.
On stage, there simply were two synths and a drum set, and when the three guys took the stage, they started right away their heavy and ferocious beats, mad dancing and dark-retro-new-wave-80s-inspired pop songs. The pop side may escape you at first because of the loudness of their sound and the over-the-top expanded material.
First of all I must say that I was in the front to take pictures, very closed to the amps, and it was so loud I had to put earplugs during the whole thing; unfortunately the video I took will not give you a very good idea of their music because my camera was simply not capable to capture a sound that loud!
When you listen to their dark (you cannot avoid to repeat this adjective) songs, driven by 2 beaten down synths, and Robert-Smith-type vocals, you of course cannot avoid the comparison,… The Cure, Depeche Mode, or a danceable mix of any 80s UK band with the suicidal tendency of Joy Division and all the gloom of New Order.
Wesley Eisold was singing his heart out, plaintively crying these desperate lyrics, although I could not understand quite what he was tearing in his mic, contrasting with the sophisticated and energetic moves of Dominick Fernow (of Prurient), who was dancing his ass off on these heavy beats, head-banging-foot-tapping during the whole show.
The atmosphere was full of furious drama thanks to Eisold character, building this mysterious, anxious vibe, filled with extreme emotions and ready to explode in loudness at any moment.
Eisold founded Cold Cave after having fronted several hardcore bands (American Nightmare/Give Up the Ghost, Some Girls, and XO Skeletons) and was even given credits for a few Fall Out Boy’s songs, after a fight over plagiarism. I read that the band has an additional member (currently Jennifer Clavin from Mika Miko) that was not present on Thursday night, and they have just released a new album ‘Cherish the Light Years’ on Matador Records in April
I must admit it, I don’t really listen to this kind of music, but for a night it was an experience, it was dance music from the bleak side, with a cold big abrasive sound that would you make wear black from head to toe, even under the bright Californian sun.