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Icarus — An Ever-Growing Meridional Entertainment Transgression at the Edge of the Multiverse
(Bandcamp Not Applicable, 2024, LP / DL)

by Peter Thelen, Published 2024-11-18

An Ever-Growing Meridional Entertainment Transgression at the Edge of the Multiverse Cover art

Icarus is the British duo of Sam Britton and Ollie Bown, and one can say their stock in trade is experimental electronic sounds, not ambient or Berlin School or any of the usual stuff we cover that passes for electronics, instead what they produce is noisy, chattery, creative, chaotic and above all interesting, largely made of samples and loops of percussion, electronic sounds, noises, and free-wheeling chaos – although Icarus can dial it back and keep the listener engaged. The info sheet says they are channeling the spirit of The Orb, Aphex Twin, Paradox and others, though they seem to be right at home in a unique soundworld of their own creation – any comparisons I will leave for others to make. They have been around for some time now,  An Ever-growing… is in fact their ninth album since 1998, but they have been on hiatus for a little over ten years, their last full length effort being Fake Fish Distribution from 2012. Since I’m not familiar with any earlier recordings, I’m probably best sticking to the sounds on the seven tracks at hand rather than trying to assemble some king of band trajectory. One thing that most certainly can be said is that every cut from the near-thirteen-minute “Voodoo-Baroque-Vaporwave-Serialism” that closes the album all the way down to the 39-second “I’m Like the Nutty Professor” is that it is a restless ongoing chain of rhythmic changes, melodic fragments, and unusual sharp turns that offers little respite for the listener, though it is an engaging journey that combines a plethora of musical ideas all compacted into a petri dish where it evolves and grows and takes off on its own, seemingly out of control, hence the Ever-Growing... in the title. One track of particular note is “Lemsip Max Relief” which takes off fairly gently, the percussives that exist mostly in the background are reminiscent of Balinese gongs, the overall feeling of the piece creates a softer pause in the middle of all the craziness. Another is “Collectable Woodland Animals Armed with Heavy Weaponry,” which begins with some interesting field recording free of rhythm, then slowly picks up most of those additional elements as it proceeds, eventually coalescing like a bunch of subatomic particles racing around a nucleus. Perhaps all this chattering chaos isn’t for everyone, though it certaily makes for some interesting listening when one is in the mood for it.

Filed under: New releases, 2024 releases

Related artist(s): Icarus

More info
http://not-applicable.bandcamp.com/album/an-ever-growing-meridional-entertainment-transgression-at-the-edge-of-the-multiverse

 

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