Icy Demons

A brief, mostly instrumental synth jazz track heralds the beginning of a peculiar journey into the Icy Demons’ winter beach party of the soul. This quirky ensemble show great zeal for arranging songs with a wide palette of instruments and sonic textures — many keyboard patches are tweaked to feel like winter fur coats, with hairs of differing coarsenesses, and vibes and strings are employed liberally. Featuring the core members of Man Man stick swinger Chris Powell and bassist/vocalist Griffin Rodriguez of Need New Body, with a notable collection of guests, including the crystalline guitar prowess of Tortoise’s Jeff Parker, the upright bass abilities of Josh Abrams and brilliant cello work of improviser Tomeka Reed, the musicianship is confident, complex and littered with detail, mostly saving Miami Ice from the occasional overindulgence in cheese, like the vocoder-driven molasses disco geek anthem "Centurion.” Thankfully, the remedy is the next and final track. "Crittin’ Down To Baba’s” is the perfect chilly rave-up to grind parkas to.