“Four romantic existential anthems for the disenchanted daydreamers” is how dark-synth brigade, Cold Cave, sum up their latest EP ‘You & Me & Infinity’, and do you know what, they’re not wrong; in amongst the shadowy synths and mechanically driven beats, head honcho Wesley Eisold’s lyrics anchor on a profound optimism and a fist-clenched sense of defiance.

The EP’s title track announces, ‘You & Me & Infinity’, in a bevy of layered digital waves and crisp, crunching machine-propelled percussion. Sonically and lyrically we find Cold Cave straddling a range of territories; on the surface, the EP comes across as austere and impenetrable but delve underneath the electronics and Eisold’s rich, theatrical baritone reflects on the romanticism of his “existential anthems for the disenchanted daydreamers” – “you and me and infinity/you and me still chasing the dream”. While a dose of reality isn’t far away “torn between love and war” and further yin and yang pendulum swings crop up elsewhere as the outfit’s main man croons about “hell fire and heaven’s door”. What you get offered up is realistic idealism; we’re all striving for own our utopia but it doesn’t come easy. Scuzzy electronics and staccato clips and blips make ‘Nothing is True but You’ the EP’s most energetic moment. Although on face value it maybe all jerky rhythms but there’s a murky undertone that’s positively vampiric. Peeking through the darkness, Eisold can be heard half singing/half whispering the song’s title like it’s his own beacon of hope.

‘Glory’ provokes electro-icons Depeche Mode and New Order in it’s simple pulses and ethereal waves of synth pop. It’s like a slower, melancholier ‘Just Can’t Get Enough’. Surges of optimism flood ‘Glory’ as Eisold calmly states “today’s the day my life is gonna change/I’ve got to get up off the floor/there’s another world and it’s waiting for us” like someone desperately clambering out of a rut. EP closing track ‘My Heart Is Immortal’ is rich with a dystopian sci-fi feel as it slowly thumps and fizzes with an underlining menace. To match the song’s gloomy tones, Eisold’s lyrics reflect more on finding solace in a break from convention and escapism “Transcend everything/this town/this horrid town/new life/new love”.

‘You & Me & Infinity’: an EP for all those that embrace the dark and the light of life.

Words and Thoughts by Adam Williams