Las Vegas Mixtape v30: Darkwave Bliss, Havana Rises Again, and Nightlife Tastemakers Bash

Track #1: Cold Cave @Fremont Country Club

Judging by the packed Cold Cave show at downtown’s Fremont Country Club on a recent Saturday night, there’s a strong “darkwave” musical community in Las Vegas. The audience response to the Los Angeles co-ed duo’s upbeat and infectiously gloomy set was thunderous.

As with their sonic heroes Depeche Mode, whom they’ve supported on tour, Cold Cave builds their sound on pulsing synths with guitar embellishments. Their current and third album, “Passion Depression,” is possibly their best.

At Fremont, the band achieved instant liftoff with the disc’s “She Reigns Down,” letting everyone know that it’s women who are ultimately in charge of the universe: “Her name is Allah/Her name is Jesus/Her name is Budda/She reigns forever.”

In an age when women’s rights have been curtailed, these words resonate.

Driven by ghostly vocalist Wesley Eisold, dressed, of course, in a long dark coat and shrouded in dry ice fog, and multi-instrumentalist/partner-in-life Amy Lee, Cold Cave first released their debut album in 2009.

A show highlight was “Underworld USA,” an anthemic song from 2011 about modern alienation: “They said the meek shall inherit the earth/Oh god that seems like so much work/I want to sing and dream and drink and cry/And let this night pass me by.”  To-hell-with-it lyrics like this articulate what a lot of people are feeling right now.