REVIEW: Cold Cave - Cherish The Light Years

7 out of 10

Find it here.

It's already been about a half decade or so since Cold Cave began forming/emerging. Their earliest sounds were barely audible Industrial Lo-Fi masterpieces that carried the same aesthetics as an early Throbbing Gristle release ..and then came "Love Comes Close", the band's first "official" release/LP. On "Love Come Close" (EIC'c #4 of '09) Cold Cave pushed themselves harder than they had before. The production was astounding, the general writing/quality of songs was up, the sounds were catchier than I thought would be possible. "Love.." was a nearly perfect album with highly addictive results. Now, "Cherish The Light Years", in-which we see the band push themselves even harder as well as gain a little help from (Indie "Man of the Moment" Producer 2.0) Chris Coady (YYY's, Beach House, TVOTR). There is also a slight shift in sound, instead of "dark/gloomy Industrial Pop" CC have now entered the realm of "Hardcore-esque" Dance Pop. So what do I think of this "shift"?

As far as comparing this release to previous releases it will be clear from the album's grand opener "The Great Pan Is Dead" that "Cherish The Light Years" is most certainly the strongest forward-push in the "right" direction of seriously solid/strong Pop productions. As far as comparing it any other aspects of Cold Cave's young career, I would say older releases are a little better/more my taste. I fully realize the title of this album, however this album almost feels "too peppy/bright" for Cold Cave. It makes me wonder if that was the band's decision or a certain producer? If it is indeed the bands decision kudos to them for trying something a little different. Please, please, just don't forget about where you came from, maybe "return to form" on one of your next releases? This album will sell, I know that much. Honestly, I can see this release becoming a household/Hot Topic name. They've got all the right names behind them now, they have an incredibly catchy Pop record here, they've got the right image & they've already got a bit of a fan base. Your 15 minutes begins now Cold Cave. With all this "bashing", understand this; I do really appreciate the quality of writing on this release, I can still hear a bit of CC in a few of these tracks, I just also know it's not 100% up my alley, close (really close). Just not what I was expecting.

A good/solid album, not the way I prefer my Cold Cave, but still pretty decent. Either it's the shift in their sound the bothers me, or there was a shift in my musical taste over the past couple years (which is completely plausible). Expect to see/hear about Cold Cave more and more if the band decides to continue down the Pop route.

Standout Tracks: The Great Pan Is Dead, Underworld USA, Burning Sage (I want an album full of tracks like this!!), Villains Of The Moon