Cold Cave - Love Comes Close

Wes Eisold, of American Nightmare/Some Girls fame, is now making some pretty sweet electronic pop in the vein of early New Order. I honestly wouldn't have checked this out if it wasn't for this article in Philly Weekly and the fact that I have been listening to "Background Music" for a month straight.

Apparently named after Eisold's drafty loft apartment, Cold Cave is worlds apart from the chest beating rage that defined American Nightmare and Some Girls. It's a pop band, albeit one with few hooks, but a pop band nonetheless. The song "Life Magazine" was featured in some car commercial or something. I don't know, I don't pay for television. The girl singing? That's Caralee McElroy of Xiu Xiu.

"Love Comes Close" is a good place to start for casual listeners. The album reeks late 80s electronic Brit-pop, especially on the droning "Heaven Was Full" where Eisold does his best Ian Curtis impersonation. Get into it.

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These Arms are Snakes - This is Meant to Hurt You

Ah, this album brings back memories. It was 2003 and it seemed like ex-members of every band I loved as a kid were forming new "rock" influenced bands. These Arms are Snakes were no exception, featuring ex-members of Seattle's seminal Botch and Kill Sadie, and boasting a thick sound that instantly reminded one of a better version of Ink and Dagger's self titled album.

Sonically, These Arms are Snakes are closer to Kill Sadie than Botch, with thick nervous riffs and shouted vocals buried low in the mix. "Riding the Grape Dragon" is an excellent opener, but "The Blue Rose" is the real standout track on this E.P. The song is as subtle as a boot to the teeth, a frenzied post punk rager of throbbing bass and howling guitars that's unrelenting from start to finish.

There's a lot promise in "This is Meant to Hurt You," promise that eventually gets squandered by the band's first L.P. "Oxneers or The Lion Sleeps When Its Antelope Go Home," a jittery synth-heavy foray into dance music. These Arms are Snakes later return to form on their sophomore album "Easter," but can't recapture the same urgency that drives "This is Meant to Hurt You."

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