Album: You're Nothing
Record Label: Matador
The aggression and energy is still there, but in trying to become more mature Iceage have only become less memorable
Those of you few who have been following this blog since the early stages will remember that Iceage's ferocious 2011 debut "New Brigade" breached the top 10 albums of the year list. So full of rage, chaotic athleticism and fire were they that if it wasn't apparent that they were one of the most vital young bands of our time then surely they would cement such assertions with their second album?
One would certainly hope so. Alas, "You're Nothing", full of the gnarly, bitchin' connotations of it's title, is not the precocious step up we had all felt at the end of our finger tips. The young Danish quartet's dynamic is still fuelled by aggression, as is proven by the manic howling of "It might hit first." But what the album attains in energy it lacks both soul and the existence of any really tangible character.
The brilliant riffing on "In Haze" is the only meldoy that truly worms it's way into this listener's memory glands. "Ecstacy" has a cold, dark bite without being particularly moving, whilst the lethargic piano- lead drawl of "Morals" just drags into greyness.
Iceage have tried to maintain the ramshackle violence of their debut whilst trying to mature, but all too often "You're Nothing" is a rather impreganble, immovable record that feels like searching for a soul that doesn't seem to be tangible. There are hints here and there that their ambition could take them to very big places. They just need to get the aesthetic sorted first.
Key tracks: In Haze, It Might Hit First
For fans of: White Lung, Wire, Male Bonding
4/10
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