For the last couple of months, I have been fascinated by Odd Future Wolf Gang Kill Them All, leader Tyler, the Creator in particular. My anticipation for Goblin was fairly high, and when it hit, I liked it. It was good, if overlong and a bit bloated. It also suffered from Tyler’s obvious (some would say purposeful) immaturity. Basically, you could attribute a lot of Goblin’s problems to Tyler’s inherent immaturity and very young age. He’s 20 years old, he’s got a lot of time to grow. Most bands take an album or two to come into their own. Isaac Brock was 21 when Modest Mouse, one of my favorite bands of all time, released This Is a Long Drive for Someone with Nothing to Think About. He was even younger when he recorded what constitutes Sad Sappy Sucker. Both are fairly mediocre releases. The Lonesome Crowded West, released only two years later, is one of my favorite albums of all time. Even Jeff Mangum, legendary recluse that he is, released On Avery Island before his masterpiece. I’m a huge Neutral Milk Hotel fan, and Avery drags every time I listen to it. Not many bands get it right on the first go. One of the few I can think of is Joy Division, who’s debut is a genre defining masterpiece.
This precedent makes what Iceage have achieved with New Brigade all the more impressive. With an average age of 17, these Danish post-punkers are one of the youngest bands I’ve ever had the pleasure of listening to. And, as young as they are, they have absolutely none of the pitfalls of the previously mentioned groups. It contains none of the bloat of Goblin, none of the listlessness of On Avery Island. It is an album of tightly wound chaos. Opener “White Rune” builds and eventually blasts into a chorus of chaotic guitars and almost industrial vocals. You can hear the influences throughout; the fast, clipped “Broken Bones” echoes Entertainment! era Gang of Four and Mission of Burma, while the altogether bleak lyrics and tight, fast drumming are similar to the previously mentioned Joy Division. The best comparison is pre-Unknown Pleasures Joy Division, when the band was known as Warsaw. The quick, dark songs have much in common with track such as “Warsaw” and “Failures”. However, let me mention that this band is nowhere near a Joy Division copycat. Where Joy Division (and post-punk as a whole) emphasized emotion, Iceage emphasizes energy. One of the 12 track is just over 3 minutes, every other track barely breaches 2 minutes. These guys are as punk as they are post-punk, they sound as snotty Black Flag or The Germs while sounding as bleak as Joy Division.
At 25 minutes in length, the album never falters. Each song transfers smoothly into the next, not one track is too long or too short. There is no fat here. Even then, the variety is incredible. The fast, almost hardcore punk “Count Me In” sounds nothing like the almost poppy and singable “You’re Blessed” It’s astounding. However, the album is tied together by a feeling of barely controlled anarchy. These songs want to explode, but they almost never do. There’s not a flaw on the album. It’s the freshest thing I’ve heard all year. There’s no pretension here. These kids have no political agenda, cumbersome concept. They aren’t out to shock and appall, they aren’t out to get a ton of attention. They come on exactly as they look; young, frustrated kids who just enjoy making music, and they don’t care who it pisses off. This is the best new punk album I’ve heard since The Menzingers released Chamberlain Waits, and it’s the best new post-punk I’ve heard in forever. It’s also one of the best albums I’ve heard all year.
Rating: 10/10
Recommended Tracks: “You’re Blessed”, “White Rune”, “Remember”
Quick Note: I found out after writing this that there actually is a Joy Division track called Ice Age (the band was called Warsaw at that point), so my early Joy Division comparison isn’t just me trying to name drop, as it turns out.
Burk Smyth 