People are wearing more black in 2010. It’s hard to pinpoint why/when folks started ransacking the goth, ’80s new (and colder) wave, UK dream-pop, and icier post-punk sections of their record collection, but as a big fan of all the aforementioned, I appreciate the shift (as well as the crossover of bands who’ve been doing it all along). I thought Abe Vigoda’s Skeleton had its moments — and was definitely more interesting than a lot of schlock getting hyped in 2008 — but their upcoming fourth collection Crush is great. Gone is the “tropical punk rock” of the past. (Maybe consider it a New Romantic extension of the “Skeleton” video?) Vocalist Michael Vidal’s quoted saying they were directly inspired by Arthur Russell and “cold wave and minimal wave stuff.” The band also cites the “regimented beats” of new drummer Dane Chadwick, who assisted with melodies and handled most of the electronics. The colorful L.A. warmth’s been replaced by frozen synths, swirling sequencers, more melancholic vocal lines, and icy guitar lines all while maintaining the catchiness and upswing you’d expect. (Spurned Interpol fans in search of big choruses should jump ship toward this.) See, for instance, “To Tears,” a track that features one of the collection’s sunnier (jagged) guitar lines.

• Abe Vigoda – “To Tears”Download

Crush is out 9/20 in the UK via Bella Union and 9/21 in the US via PPM. There’s a “Throwing Shade” 7″ out now: 800 on black vinyl, 200 on pink. (You can listen to “Throwing” and a “Crush” demo at MySpace.) Fittingly, they have some upcoming shows with Cold Cave:

08/27 – San Francisco, CA @ Bimbo’s 365 Club **
08/28 – Los Angeles, CA @ Echoplex **
09/02 – San Deigo, CA @ Casbah #
09/03 – Costa Mesa, CA @ Detroit Bar #
09/04 – Los Angeles, CA @ FYF Fest #
09/05 – San Francisco, CA @ Great American Music Hall #
09/06 – Big Sur, CA @ Henry Miller Library #
09/10 – Portland, OR @ Backspace – MFNW

** w/ Cap’n Jazz
# w/ Cold Cave