Album Review: Cave of Swimmers - "Aurora"

 

The best bands are often the ones most difficult to describe.  It’s an inherent problem and an ever-present dichotomy of music fandom; we crave creativity and praise innovation, but then in the discovery, are feebly incapable of finding the proper words to describe the revelation to our friends.  So, we cop out – “dude, you just have to hear it.”

Such is the case with Cave of Swimmers’ newest effort, “Aurora.”  Not only is this is an album that re-invents the band in a new light, but serves to re-define how we consider the metal power do.

There is no easy parallel for what Cave of Swimmers has created here.  Certain elements are identifiable and comparable – the eclectic, frenetic writing style of Destrage, the vocals-in-front of Mars Volta, the low-key staccato riffs of Queens of the Stone Age, all appear in their turn, and all fall precipitously short of actually describing what’s happening on “Aurora.”

Since Cave of Swimmers is a two-piece act (who makes considerably more noise than any two-piece should,) there is a mental compulsion to refer to them as a sort of power metal White Stripes, but even simply putting those words together feels inadequate.

So, what are we really listening to here?

We begin with “The Sun,” as anthemic a song as a metal fan could ever want, with a speedy riff, tight percussion and a huge, undeniable chorus.  “The Sun” blisters (sorry, bad pun,) with forthright metal fury in the traditional sense.  There’s some high-flying Cirith Ungol in the proceedings, but told through the harsher prism of thrash riffs and an unrelenting pace.

The most important part of the “The Sun” is that is establishes “Aurora,” as a record not to the dismissed, which is important, because the ride gets stranger from there, as we hurtle headlong into a catchy but silly song about seeing a double rainbow (man, remember when that went viral?)  If the order of these songs had been reversed, fans might have passed on Cave of Swimmers as a joke act, much to their own loss.

Every song on “Aurora” offers something new and novel.  It continues with “My Human,” a well-paced and appropriately dramatic proceeding that surprises with a rhythmic thump in the chorus worthy of the deepest groove metal.

And then, “Looking Glass,” the greatest of the album’s six true songs (the opening cut is a throwaway intro.)  This is the culmination of all the ingredients that Cave of Swimmers has brought to the table – an Iron Maiden gallop, a hi-fi rock guitar tone, a bright punk chorus, a righteous buzzing solo.  All of these are melded into an improbable but infectious stew, the kind of song that you find myself humming while working late hours at the office (some personal experience here.)

And this doesn’t even get into the Metallica-bred riffing of “Dirt” or any of the other great stuff that happens in this compact blockbuster of an album.

For a conclusion, I’m going to commit a cardinal sin of reviewing, which in full disclosure, I seem to commit a lot – I’m going to make the review about me for a minute.  I have been reviewing music, in some form or fashion, for almost fifteen years now.  As I confront the stark reality that I am a scant few years away from being forty years old, and as responsibilities in my regular life add on this making less and less of my time my own, I am faced each January with the very real trepidation that maybe this will be the year that music leaves me behind.  Taste will move on past me, my ear will go tin or artists simply won’t produce any new material that I find compelling. 

Cave of Swimmers has proven to me that I have at least one more year of viability.  Thank you, gents.