(Image courtesy of Matador Records)In general, Iceage has always been that band that caused every 20-something fan of punk music to ask themselves, “Why can’t I be more like them?”
Formed in 2008 when its members were in their late teens, Iceage has become one of the most innovative and forward-thinking punk acts around. Although it is steeped in the underground scene, Iceage received considerable recognition, especially by signing to name brand indie rock label, Matador Records.
Iceage’s most recent album, “Plowing Into the Field of Love,” is further testament to the band’s creativity. At first glance, the work is heavily influenced by staple post-punk act Joy Division, but it's layered with Americana themes and undertones with an expert use of the piano and brass instruments.
The opening track, “On My Fingers,” does a fantastic job of establishing the album's tone: dark, foreboding and cinematic. The song sounds reminiscent of Jim Morrison’s more fatalistic lyricism, in that it prophesied certain doom in the face of uncertain events, and it is put over instrumentation that sets the stage for a gut-wrenching defeat.
The most interesting track on the album is “The Lord’s Favorite,” a marriage between post-punk and outlaw country music. At one point, singer Elias Bender Rønnenfelt, belts out a chorus that follows the same rhyme scheme and meter as Johnny Cash’s “Folsom Prison Blues.”
The album follows this Americana-infused punk theme in the remaining songs. Further, Iceage keeps you on the hook for all tracks with the expert use of tempo change.
On “Stay,” the listener is drawn in and out of emotional lulls by sharp cathartic tempo changes that hold the listener’s interest with ever-present tension.
In “Glassy Eyed, Dormant and Veiled," ”Forever” and “Cimerian Shades,” similar song structures disturb the listener's complacency, and all of the songs speak highly of Iceage’s understanding of music.
The album, however, falters in its ability to distinguish itself from … well, itself. At no point does it transition from the bleak, meditated tone into something different. That’s not to say it needed to plug in an upbeat pop song for diversity’s sake, but the work could benefit from more variety from the thematic spectrum when trying to express this particular doom.
This could mean two things for Iceage: The album should be taken as one complete piece or each song should be analyzed separately. Unfortunately, either listening experience leads to a similar conclusion — an album that is stuck within itself.
All in all, the album serves as the next notch in the belt for a band that is consistently ahead of everyone else. While the songs do have a tendency to mirror themselves throughout the album, there’s rarely a moment in the work that the listener feels upset or let down.
Keep an eye out for Iceage. If you enjoyed the album, you can see them live Nov. 5 at 51 West.
Reach the reporter at zjenning@asu.edu or follow him on Twitter @humanzane
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