Cold Waves Festival annual stop in Los Angeles made its presence known in their new home at the Pacific Electric, just outside of Chinatown. The venue was filled with echoing post punk and industrial sounds for 2 nights. Cold Waves Los Angeles brought together artists from across genres and showcased the strength and influence the scene has maintained through the years.
Night 1 Cold Waves Festival
Those who arrived early on night 1 were met with a standout performance and rewarded with the pulsating sounds of Miss Trezz. Her set was a perfect way to ignite the first night. Miss Trezz is a Los Angeles-based singer, songwriter, and performer carving out her own space at the intersection of industrial pop/dark electronic music and synth-Pop. The multi-talented artist definitely left the audience craving more of her unapologetic stage presence and hypnotic sounds. Miss Trezz won over a packed room and walked off the stage with new fans after her head turning performance.
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Dil.dox continued the night and made their presence known with their unique, high energy sound assault. The Los Angeles based duo caused the room to immediately erupt with their harsh beats and tortured vocals. Dil.dox has provided the Los Angeles underground scene with a taste of beautiful chaos in recent years, filled with rage and empowering vocals. The duo definitely left their mark at the Festival.
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After a brief break, 16 Volt hit the stage with their brand of industrial rock that shaped the scene in the 90s, and has spawned heavily influenced new acts throughout their career. A little bit of head banging was just what this festival needed. Truly continue to be innovators of their craft.
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Acumen Nation followed and made a return to Cold Waves as attendees continued to push towards the stage. Even though Acumen last studio album released in 2007, the support for the band has not faded. The band has maintained a fanbase of industrial metal heads throughout the years and I suspect that will continue through the ages…
If ever you wanted to enjoy a sensual dark industrial night, PIG is the answer. Raymond Watts has been leading the rave since the 80s and always brings the same punch and energy to every performance. Cold Waves was no different. Raymond seduced the crowd as he does best with his eloquent yet gritty vocals. PIG never disappoints and always invigorates the mind and body.
The headliner of night 1, Stabbing Westward, brought dark romanticism to the audience with an aggressive tone. Truly a rare jewel in the festival’s lineup. For those that remember “Save Yourself” and “Haunting Me” and “What Do I Have To Do?”, it was a treat to see this highlevel showcase of anthems at Cold Waves. Christopher Hall delivered an angsty feverish love letter on stage to close the first night.
Night 2 Cold Waves Festival
On night 2 of the festival, Snakes of Russia (Joseph Holiday), opened the floor with rhythmic beats of death. Based in LA, his sound provided an industrial cinematic escape and grounded everyone that was in attendance for a special night.
Hailing from Compton, Grizz CLL entered the room and dropped the contagious dark dance beats the underground scene lusts after every late night. Grizz CLL set made everyone feel as part of a family drawn by vampiric desires. “Club Flesh” and “Sioux So Pretty” echoed and shook the house as the crowd swayed in unison. Bats! Grizz CLL is an artist you need to experience more than once.
House of Heaven followed as the third act, with their recently released album “Within/Without”, the band created a moody post-punk vibe and an elevated live set for such a young band mixing mediums. The trio gave Cold Waves an atmospheric dance floor drowning in flashing lights.
NGHTCRWLR continued the night with her provocative dark industrial noise sound. Kris Esfandiari’s vocal felt both apocalyptic and endearing. While NGHTCRWLR is a complete departure from Esfandiari’s iconic sludge outfit , King Woman, the grit remains. It was an unexpected yet pleasing act for the night. Almost a year after NGHTCRWLR released OZ, she remains an unstoppable force in the scene.
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Bringing their cold synth lines, based out of LA, Forever Grey made sure the audience knew the night was not over. The bands most recent release was back in 2022, “Sympathy Garden”, but it didn’t deter their performance on stage. Forever Grey remained consistent with deep dark vocals and dreamy melancholia and was a highlight of the weekend.
The Black Queen took the stage, as headliners of Night 2, and reminded everyone in attendance of the “Fever Daydream” and their force. 10 years ago the band released their debut album independently. Still relevant as ever. It was a perfect way to close Cold Waves Festival and end the night, with slow motion synth hooks and modern atmospheric notes. After a false start to their set, all members of the band made it to the stage and delivered their crisp hooks and vapory arrangements and closed out the weekend perfectly.
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While Cold Waves stop in Los Angeles was a bit undersold compared to other years, it’s tough to move from the seemingly haunted confines of the legendary Mayan theater to a new venue- both for the festival and the city of Los Angeles. We look forward to filling Pacific Electric up with continuous patronage in their vibey, flashing monument to music for years to come.
Words/Photos: Abraham Preciado
