Album Review: The Icarus Line - 'Slave Vows'

By this point, six albums in, you know what to expect from an Icarus Line record. Dark, psychedelic infused rock music that is dynamically challenging and passionate. 'Slave Vows' is no exception, if anything it is the quintessential example of this. Joe Cardamone knows what he is doing, and what he wants to do, and it flows in the most natural of ways.

The album begins with an eleven minute mammoth, 'Dark Circles', which contains the underlying sex appeal, present in most of the band's music, the guitars feature an undeniable groove that is consistent throughout the peaks and troughs of this rock epic. The lyrics are interesting, they sound hopeless, as if spoken by a man who is truly lost, yet they eventually reveal themselves to be the gothic equivalent of a motivational bumper sticker.

This feel is carried on through 'Dead Body', another track that takes its time, driven by a thick bass line and soulful vocals, complete with tremolo drenched guitar stabs. The marching drums of 'City Job' change the vibe thanks to the almost quirky supporting riffs that present a playful front in an otherwise darkened landscape, this is of course until the overdriven guitars and bass crash in turning things into a veritable death march.

The record ends on the energetic 'Rats A*s', a frantic and aggressive attack on someone who has clearly pissed Cardamone off as he screams "I'm talking to you" amidst grating guitars lines and pounding drums.

As with most Icarus Line albums the recording is sparse and organic, it is interesting to wonder what this band would sound like in an over-produced format, perhaps making themselves more Nine Inch Nails-y? Regardless the band once again brings you into their jam room and crushes you from the inside out.

The Icarus Line make the kind of rock n' roll that "rock n' roll" bands are too scared to make these days. It's honest, unashamed and downright sinful, whilst maintaining a sort of veil, they bring you in, but with enough ambiguity to make sure you still have to use your own brain.

1. Dark Circles

2. Don't Let Me Save Your Soul

3. Marathon Man

4. Dead Body

5. No Money Music

6. City Job

7. Laying Down For The Man

8. Rats A*s