Long-ago BTW Cold Cave’s excellent second proper full-length Cherish The Light Years opens with “The Great Pan Is Dead,” one of 2011′s more arresting tracks. Moving outside the DIY bedroom of Cremations and Love Comes Close, the nine-song collection was recorded with Chris Coady (Yeah Yeah Yeahs, TV On The Radio, Beach House, etc.). His presence is definitely felt in the sharper, lusher palette. The greatest shift, though, is bandleader Wesley Eisold’s growing confidence as a bigtime frontman — he chews the scenery, bellowing and strutting like the dudes in Pulp and Suede he said had an impact on the record. (The Cure, New Order, early Siouxsie, the Walker Brothers’ 1978 Nite Flights LP, and Jean Genet also influenced Cherish.) Esold’s joined by main cohorts Dominick Fernow (electronics) and Jennifer Clavin (backing vocal, synthesizer) along with Tonie Joy (Moss Icon/Universal Order Of Armageddon/late-period Born Against), Nick Zinner and Sean Martin (all on guitars), Daryl Palumbo (bass, guitar), Matt Sweeney (bass), and Gae Licata (drums). It does feel like a fuller, more alive band, like Eisold’s found a way to mix his hardcore past with his synthpop present. “Pan”‘s especially great — years of that hardcore, noise, and other experimentation resulting in a perfect pop song.

• Cold Cave – “The Great Pan Is Dead”Download

01 “The Great Pan Is Dead”
02 “Pacing Around The Church”
03 “Confetti”
04 “Catacombs”
05 “Underworld USA”
06 “Icons Of Summer”
07 “Alchemy and You”
08 “Burning Sage”
09 “Villains of the Moon”

Cherish The Light Years is out 4/5 via Matador. (That’s Wes on the cover.) You can read Eisold’s thoughts on the song over at the band’s tumblr. They’re heading out on the road, sometimes headlining and sometimes opening for the Kills:

04/06 – Pittsburgh, PA @ Brillobox
04/07 – Cincinnati, OH @ MOTR Pub
04/08 – Bloomington, IN @ The Bishop
04/09 – St. Louis, MO @ Luminary Center for the Arts
04/10 – Kansas City, MO @ The Record Bar
04/11 – Denver, CO @ Larimer Lounge
04/13 – Salt Lake City, UT @ Urban Lounge
04/14 – Tucson, AZ @ Club Congress
04/19 – Dallas, TX @ Granada Theater #
04/20 – Austin, TX @ La Zona Rosa #
04/22 – Nashville, TN @ Cannery Ballroom #
04/23 – Atlanta, GA @ Masquerade #
04/24 – Washington, DC @ 9:30 Club #
04/26 – Boston, MA @ Royale #
04/27 – Philadelphia, PA @ Theater of Living Arts #
04/28 – Hartford, CT @ The Mill (at Trinity College)
04/29 – New York, NY @ Terminal 5 #
04/30 – Montreal, QC @ Olympia #
05/01 – Toronto, ON – Sound Academy #
05/03 – Detroit, MI – Majestic #
05/04 – Chicago, IL – Vic Theater #
05/05 – Minneapolis, MN – First Ave #
05/08 – Vancouver, BC – Commodore Ballroom #
05/09 – Seattle, WA – Showbox #
05/10 – Portland, OR – Wonder Ballroom #
05/11 – San Francisco, CA – The Fillmore Auditorium #

# supporting the Kills