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Nothing makes you feel like a Johnny-come-lately quite like stumbling upon a new band, only to discover that all their releases are way sold out. So it goes with Cold Cave, a loose collective of delightfully noisy, new wave revivalists from Philadelphia who I happened upon this morning via the Matablog. Wesley Eisold, who formerly fronted totally crucial hardcore acts Some Girls and Give Up the Ghost, is the band’s principal, around whom a cast of contributors—including former Xiu Xiu member Caralee McElroy—rotates.
Luckily for us latecomers, Matador has seen fit to snap up the band and will re-release their full-length, Love Comes Close, on November 3. A collection of odds and sods, presumably culled from the band’s long out of print singles, will follow. In the meantime, listen to “Life Magazine,” a fuzzed-out slice of eminently danceable synth-pop with an invitingly childlike vocal assist from McElroy. As it turns out, McElroy’s backing vocals on Casiotone for the Painfully Alone’s cover of “When You Were Mine” only hinted at her potential. On “Life Magazine” she comes into her own as a frontwoman who’s equal parts disarming and enigmatic—the distant echo of her voice only leaves the listener wanting more. Just try not to get hooked on this song—I dare you.
Cold Cave
“Life Magazine” [MP3]
