Cave In Releases Their 'Final Transmission'

This is Cave In.

They are a hard to describe band from Boston, Massachusetts. I have done various reviews of their releases over the years, and I’ve always struggled to categorize them. They exist in the indie rock spectrum, but spacier, and occasionally, heavier, edgy attacks interrupt the flow.

They recently dropped their last album, ‘Final Transmission’. It is their last album, at least in this incarnation, due to the unfortunate death of bassist Caleb Scofield in a car accident in 2018. He had a wife and children that he leaves behind along with a band that is missing one of their driving forces.

“When I look back at our email correspondence about the demos, Caleb had a really crystallized view of how to navigate the whole thing, He was really digging the stuff that was spacey, heavy, a little bit weird, but with very pretty melodies and hooks. I think he was encouraging us to embrace what we’ve always been good at and what sets us apart from our contemporaries.” – guitarist/singer Steve Brodsky

It had been eight years since the band had put out new material. Cave In was effectively destroyed by the tragedy. However, Caleb appears on all the songs on ‘Final Transmission’. The opening track ‘Final Transmission’ is a haunting acoustic demo Caleb had recorded and sent to the band which features little snippets of his voice humming the melodies on top of the guitar strumming. Knowing the band’s story, it’s a chilling, but noble track to have included on this album.

“Hearing his voice fucks you up a little bit, We were surprised to get it from him, actually, but we thought it was great. And that was it. In a weird way, it’s the end of the story as far as our relationship together.” – guitarist Adam McGrath

Half the proceeds of ‘Final Transmission’ will be given to Caleb’s wife and kids. The album is angular, drifting, yet melodic. The band was always good at coaxing out the more melodic side of heavy distortions and driving beats. Any fan should hear songs that touch on the band’s whole career. It’s a more mature Cave In, but the music still has those catchy hooks buried in the swirling guitars and grumbly bass.

“What doesn’t kill me makes you mine” proclaims the second track, ‘All Illusion’. If you’ve never heard Cave In, this album is a good introcuction.

It’s this ability to swerve in and out of the dissonance that Cave In displays well on ‘Final Transmission’. The song, ‘Strange Reflection’ demonstrates this with a somber tempo.

This will be the sixth and most likely final release from Cave In. Going backwards in their catalog, is my personal favorite Cave In song, ‘Trepanning’. I’m not ashamed to admit I didn’t know that word and had to look it up. Trepanning: to perforate (a person’s skull) with a trepan. Stick with the song till you hear the trick shot rolling note breaks. Killer.