Icarus Line

Los Angeles shit disturbers the Icarus Line have walked a precarious road during their nine years. A header titled "Attitude” on their Wikipedia entry details all of their mischief; they are indeed a bunch of miscreants who will one day get their asses beaten down. Now on their third label, after losing out in the insolvency of V2, the band should feel right at home on Dim Mak, a label that can certainly take care of their needs. Three years on from their underrated classic Penance Soirée, they’ve lost founding guitarist/Buddyhead.com co-owner Aaron North to Nine Inch Nails but somehow rebounded with their most ambitious work yet. The exit of North feels like the noose has been loosened and there’s room to breathe. Far from the hostility of 2000’s Mono, Black Lives opens up their range, allowing for a disposition that in the past just wasn’t there. They still worship the Stooges and Jesus Lizard on the title track and "Black Presents,” respectively, even a little bit of Marilyn Manson on the spooky "Amber Alert,” but somehow they’ve found peace and turned (gulp!) pretty on both the inside and out. "Slayer” acquires the heavenly shoegaze of Pale Saints, while "Victory Gardens” and "Gets Paid” traverse the drugged out euphoria and rock’n’roll strut of Primal Scream. Sadly, as a whole, it doesn’t quite live up to the solid smack in the chops of Soirée but these new paths they’ve crossed leave room for a whole new world, which I hope they will explore more of.