Cold Cave

Cold Cave are a US band founded in 2007 in Los Angeles by musician and writer Wesley Eisold. The project is primarily linked to darkwave, synth-pop and post-punk, with clear influences from 80s electronic and industrial music. Over the years they have established themselves as one of the most significant acts in the Eighties-branded "synth darkwave" revival.

Wesley Eisold, who had previously fronted hardcore bands like Give Up the Ghost (American Nightmare) and Some Girls, decided to abandon that abrasive sound to experiment with electronic music, using analog synthesizers and drum machines. The stylistic shift also came about as a result of an injury that forced him to stop playing guitar, pushing him toward a more minimal, synthetic direction.

The debut album, "Love Comes Close" (2009), released on Heartworm Press (the label run by Eisold himself), was met with great acclaim thanks to its blend of darkwave melancholy and electronic pop. It's a record where the synthetic soul of the Eighties coexists with the wilder spirit of rock. "Love Comes Close" is essential, breakneck, "garage on the inside". Nine tracks and thirty-one minutes of lo-fi revelry, synths blared out to the four winds and sonic pop grime that not even Jamie Stewart could have dreamed up. Caralee McElroy, formerly of Xiu Xiu, steps in to shake up the songs' structures, with the harsh complicity of Dominick Fernow. Between tight-wound regurgitations and psychedelic crackle ("Cebe And Me"), synth-pop earworm temptations ("Love Comes Close") and alluring deformities ("Life Magazine"), a dazzling debut unfolds, topped off by the hot-disco anthem ("The Laurels Of Erotomania").

In 2011, Cold Cave released "Cherish The Light Years", an album marking a stylistic turn and a greater sonic complexity. Produced with more layered, expansive arrangements, the record still combines synths and darkwave, but with a more epic, melodic sensibility. Among the album's highlights are tracks like "Confetti" and "The Great Pan Is Dead", which express a more immediate, almost celebratory energy while still retaining a streak of dark introspection.

After a period of touring and lineup changes, Eisold continued to explore themes of darkness, loneliness and tormented love in his subsequent work. Projects like "Full Cold Moon" (2014) and a series of singles including "You & Me & Infinity" (2018) confirm his commitment to a DIY approach, with minimal sounds, cryptic lyrics and a strong visual impact in his live performances.

In 2021, with the album "Fate In Seven Lessons", Eisold pits the relentless drum machines of his earlier records against the sound of an actual live band, tasked with recreating the same scenarios while now drawing on a far broader range of influences.

Cold Cave's style is often compared to 80s icons such as Depeche Mode, New Order, Joy Division and The Cure, for their use of dark synthetic melodies and pulsing basslines, albeit with a modern, personal touch. Eisold's voice, deep and charismatic, adds an icy yet poignant dimension to the music, revealing itself over time as the project's defining signature.