“Never trust the teller, trust the tale.” Or something. That’s what we were told once. There is a kind of narrative behind this record. That a dissolute bunch of musos from LA finally got their shit together after a decade of internecine splits, excesses and excuses. Good soil to grow rock legend in. Which is a diversion from the unavoidable issue that this is a record indebted to Iggy Pop, and late 70s Bowie, reminding us that people were calling this ‘record collection rock’ over a decade ago. When these guys were passed out we presume. Think of a 70s punk Primal Scream and you’re not a million miles away.
If you approach this with low expectations you may not be disappointed. ‘King Baby’ leads off with a pounding glitter beat, full of New York Doll braggadocio. A song about ‘the cocaine kid’, although he’s later referred to as (and who wouldn’t prefer) ‘the knicker man’. It’s okay, but next up ‘We Sick’ packs some real attitude. A greasy slow dance between the bass and drums is interrupted by anti-guitar noise. Everything is too loud, and you can just imagine them mixing the LP in homage to Raw Power – thumbing the nose of the crafted mix and making the engineer weep in the process.
The album is shot through with period detail and borrowed attitude. So it goes. The echoes of Bowie are too uncomfortable on ‘Soul Slave’. It could be a track off ‘Station to Station’, or even ‘Scary Monsters’, but without the draw. The heavy doubling of the vocal on all the tracks flattens expressiveness, and makes it all a little deadened behind the eyes. That said, the speeding manic refrain, “We come for your love” off ‘It’s Alright’ gets up hopped up for the first time. We have our weaknesses too.
Icarus Line leave their most original track until last. ‘Wildlife’ seems to have the most distinctive sound and shape. But then it doesn’t leap out at us like the others. Instant gratification versus depth is a conversation that involves everyone: money men, musicians and audience, and we’ve just got to move beyond it. It’s dragging us all down man.
-Julian Tardo-
