Dodging from a Distance

If you happen to be a musician with a penchant for moody post-punk riffs, you probably have a bone to pick with Ian Curtis. I realize that the poor lad is dead and gone, so he's probably not the liveliest candidate for a good tongue-lashing, but clearly the iconic Brit is still wreaking havoc from the grave.

Whether you're a regular Steve Jones on the guitar or write hooks tighter than Janice Dickinson's Botox-injected face, if your band also happens to dabble in a certain, particular Manchester Sound, you might as well call it a day -- unless of course being heralded as Joy Division-lite sounds enticing to you. Philadelphia's Cold Cave has evidently found a way around all this with "Love Comes Close" the title track from the outfit's Matador debut, out Nov. 3rd. Injecting the Unknown Pleasures archetype with electronic fuzz and disco gloom, this enterprising pack of J.D. devotees have crafted melodies intriguing enough to keep those nasty copycat slags at bay.

Perhaps it's singer Wesley Eisold's perfectly chilled vocals set against a pulsating drum machine and twinkling synth that give this gothic number its allure. Or maybe it's the trance-like pace of the forlorn chorus that accounts for its inexplicable charm. In any case, the melodramatic tune feels more like a spooky new wave homage than a blatant rip off of yesteryear. Eisold's steady croon: "Everything is changing to remain the same" may be unsettling -- his eerie vocal style would make a song about kittens and cupcakes sound painfully tragic -- but it leaves a lasting impression with listeners.

Choosing to explore the poppier side of things -- noir synth-pop to be precise -- rather than chugging straight through post-punk waters may be Cold Cave's wisest decision as far as derailing the wannabe comparisons. "Love Comes Close" certainly has all the earmarks of a decade past, but it floats along with an air of ingenuity that could only come from a group of present day hipsters who spent the better part of their teenage years perfecting the look of disaffection.