Final Transmission

A few weeks ago I went to see Cave In play a show in London with Old Man Gloom. It was a benefit show for the family of bassist Caleb Scofield who sadly passed away last year. I hadn't seen Cave In play for probably about 13 years or so, and it was an interesting night for sure. One nice treat was that the new Cave In album, 'Final Transmission', was available to buy, a full two months before it would be sent out to those who had pre-ordered. Fortunately I hadn't pre-ordered (due mainly to the postage cost), so I was able to pick up both of the two coloured versions that were available fresh off the merch table.

The first colour is grey marble, out of 400 copies. It goes pretty well with the glossy grey front cover.

This is a pretty unique looking sleeve. The front is high gloss, whilst the back is a matte finish. I don't think I've ever seen one like this before as it's usually one or the other.

This also comes with an insert which has a really simple design. I love this image of a satellite blasting through the surface of a planet. There's something utterly fascinating about the infinite size of outer space that makes everything in human life seem to small and insignificant. And somehow this image of of the lonely satellite evokes similar feelings.

The second copy that I picked up is clear with white mix, also out of 400 copies, which also goes pretty well with the artwork.

I thought I'd put the two side by side to show the difference:

There is also a yellow vinyl version, which is the most limited colour, and which I don't have. I hope at some point to pick one up from somewhere or other.

So what is this like? Well, on first listen I found it pretty dull. But after a couple of goes it started to sink its hooks into me, and pretty soon I was feeling the addiction. It really does remind me of 'Jupiter' a lot, and in a similar way to when 'Jupiter' came out, I have been devoting a part of my day to this for the past three weeks or so. I could go on, but I won't. I'll simply say that this is my favourite record since 'Tides of Tomorrow', which came out in way back in 2002.