Top10 2011 #3: Cherish The Light Years ~Cold Cave

If this list were judged solely on bands that made “the leap” Cold Cave would be number one. I thought that although Love Comes Close was good in parts it lacked the sort of cohesion and editing to make it great. Further it felt like Cold Cave weren’t particularly interested in putting in the time to make up that ground. I was flat out wrong. From the first single (“The Great Pan is Dead”) through the full length release Cherish exceeded all expectations. Wrapping all the dark electro promise of Love Comes Close the band found a way to amplify it with darker synth driven hooks and equally perfected brooding vocals. Thanks to the mastering the album is nearly suffocating in its loudness and demands to be played at top volume. At times this unrelenting approach can make the album tedious. Background music this is definitely not. Moreover, despite how referential the album was as a whole it still felt organic, this was not schtick. Like eating a re-imagining of a traditional dish, the album hits familiar notes but does so in a way that masterfully blends reminiscence with exuberance for something new.