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(2018) Arc Iris - Icon of Ego
Review:
Each album by Arc Iris is an adventure. Over two previous albums, they created an original hybrid of indie art pop that was deeply infatuated with sophisticated archival pop to alt folk, cabaret, jazz, and even country. Given the quark strangeness and heartbreak that are the 21st century music business — they lost their manager, their booking agent, and their record label — this outfit has been pared down from its original incarnation as a sextet to its core trio of vocalist/multi-instrumentalist Jocie Adams (ex-Low Anthem), keyboardist/electronicist Zachary Tenorio-Miller, and drummer Raymond Belli (with a couple of guest string players assisting). Icon of Ego was released on Ba Da Bing, its third label in as many recordings. While their music has always been as exploratory and adventurous as it is accessible, they’ve honed their focus and concentrated on becoming a pop-prog outfit, mixing musical directions that include but aren’t limited to ’70s-era vintage electronica, dreamy pop, musical theater, and bigger beats.
Recorded in Providence, Rhode Island’s Columbus Theater, the band’s first single, “$GNMS,” is a completely re-visioned, electronics-drenched and atmospheric version of “Garden Gnomes” from their self-titled 2014 debut. While Adams’ vocal keeps that melody pointed at the heart of the listener, the layered electronics meld elements of synth work found on recordings by Sparks, early Roxy Music, and Brainticket’s, wrapped up in a majestic arrangement that is as dramatic as it is catchy. On “Dylan and Me,” the M.O. of the album title comes into the clearing as Adams’ provocative lyrics and elegant melody interrogate notions of celebrity, fame, and idol worship so prevalent in Anglo culture. Adams’ bemused singing atop the crashing tom-toms and interpolated synths and samples indicts, albeit with empathy: “…Changing times/you could not have been/waiting to be remembered/a trophy in so many eyes/a Renoir for the great pretenders….” The hooky guitar and keyboard vamps on “If You Can See” offer a foundation for Adams to leave the cynical queries behind to instead exhort — with a sultry insistence — to look at the world as something larger than as an extension of one’s own persona. Other highlights — though there isn’t a dull moment here — include the title cut and “Chattermachines,” where her utterly striking soprano gets a chance to work above the palette of syncopated electronics and breaking snares as sonic shapes and colors underscore and pinpoint the emotion and insight in her lyrics. The biggest surprise on the set, however, occurs near the end in “Everybody’s Counting on Her,” as modern soul meets hazy yet bright psychedelia, theatrical pop, and proggy Mellotrons and organs in a slow 4/4 with a hook that is so pronounced, it would make Brian Wilson grin.
On Icon of Ego, the bloodied but unbowed Arc Iris display just how much they’ve grown as a band for sure, but more than that, as producers and songwriters. This is classy, sophisticated adult pop worth its weight in gold.
Tracklist:
01 - $GNMS.flac
02 - Dylan & Me.flac
03 - If You Can See.flac
04 - Turn It Up.flac
05 - Icon of Ego.flac
06 - Chattermachines.flac
07 - Beautiful Mind.flac
08 - Everybody's Counting On Her.flac
09 - Suzy.flac
Summary:
Country: USA
Genre: art pop, indie-pop
Media Report:
Source : CD
Format : FLAC
Format/Info : Free Lossless Audio Codec, 16-bit PCM
Bit rate mode : Variable
Bit rate : ~ 710-829 Kbps
Channel(s) : 2 channels
Sampling rate : 44.1 KHz
Bit depth : 16 bits |
