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Oct 17, 2018 Web Exclusive By J. Pace

As these Chicago instrumentalists’ never-ending, steady patterns continue, evolving into their fifth full-length (after 2013’s Threace), CAVE find themselves burrowing ever deeper into the groove. Threace was just as likely to conjure mentions of Fela Kuti as it was the assorted Krautrock/motorik luminaries dependably name-dropped in reviews of 2009’s Psychic Psummer, and Allways continues with that more funky trajectory. Things nowadays are much more lock-groove than couch-lock: the band is comfortable with the straightforward, gleefully exploring every last corner of a rhythm or motif, looking under the bed of the goddamned thing. Here’s the thing: CAVE is Getting Shit Done music. CAVE should be sold as an application. Apply CAVE and write 10-20 more words per minute. Mow the lawn with time for an iced tea. Fix your bike. Clean the house. CAVE is the music you put on to get a stack of music reviews done. No grandiose lyrics to interrupt the flow, only sweet melody and a pounding, primal pathway to the mother groove. Got things to do? (www.dragcity.com/artists/cave)

Author rating: 7/10