Sunday was the third and final days of this year’s Cold Waves Fest. It was another six band bill and most of the acts were making their first Cold Waves appearance. The Metro was packed mostly full for this final night.
First up was Soft Vein. This California duo played melodic, dark synth-pop. They would’ve fit right in on the 4AD label if they were around 40 years sooner. Their songs were really catchy and scratched that itch for dark post-punk style synth-pop that the early to mid 1980s had to offer. Their 30 minute set was a real joy to sit through and left you with a feeling of definitely wanting to see them again.
Sinnerella was another duo, also haling from CA. The two band members were a couple as the singer sort of shyly pointed out to the crowd which was downright cute. They were young but knew their way around their equipment as they crafted some quality melodic darkwave/post-punk. Take elements of early Cure and New Order and stuff from that era and you’ll get an idea of the overall feeling of their music. The singer seemed a bit nervous on stage, as this was their first time playing Chicago and this was a pretty big way to debut your band here, but the band put on a good performance and they’ve got the music side of things down nicely. Don’t be surprised if you see them make a return here someday, the crowd seemed to enjoy them.
Deceits was up next. This trio also hailed from, wait for it…, California (Los Angeles to be exact). There must be something in the Los Angeles water to produce so many bands like this and we’re all grateful for it. Their music, especially the guitar sound, is definitely inspired by early/mid period The Cure. Melodic and dark post-punk/alternative. It was hard to not hear The Cure in that guitar tone which was the driving force in every song. The singer at one point tried a little too hard to be animated and move around quickly and fell on his ass. He recovered nicely but also seemed really fixated at times between songs on people having a drink. Not everyone drinks, but maybe it was just nerves. Their songs were enjoyable and they were fun to listen and dance to.
Forever Grey quickly followed. Would you believe it if I told you they were from Los Angeles, CA?! This duo, featuring one guy and one gal, put the dark and cold into darkwave/coldwave. Synth driven, fairly mid tempo, and a bit haunting, this band had all the right ingredients for a good time for the black clad masses. They definitely were one of the best bands of the night.
Actors, were not only not from Los Angles, but not even the United States. Hailing from Canada, they were firmly in the post-punk category and as a result really stood out from a lot of the bands on the bill in a good way. They had that moody, atmospheric dark sound down to a science with all kinds of great hooks. Any veterans of the 1980s post-punk/goth/alternative scene will find plenty to love about this band. They played a wonderful 45 minute set.
She Past Away came all the way from Turkey to close out this year’s Cold Waves! This band is a really great darkwave band that owes a lot of influence to those early darkwave/post-punk bands of the 1980s. The songs were mostly mid tempo and had those slightly echoed, down-mixed vocals. The synths formed the hooks and they had a lot of people dancing along to their music. Their one hour set was a great one, and it would be great if they came back and did it again sometime at another Cold Waves, they’d definitely fill the place again.
Cold Waves XIII was a resounding success of a weekend. It leaned heavy on the legacy bands on the first night and turned on the audience to a lot of great newer acts the following two days. It was a great three days of escaping the sun and escaping all the bullshit going on around the country, and that’s something we all needed desperately! Hopefully they do it all again next year and keep the tradition going as it is the one bright spot of having to usher in the fall.
