Cousins and electronic troublemakers Sam Britton and Ollie Bown have been recording as Icarus for over twenty-five years, including releases on Trevor Jackson‘s Output and The Leaf Label.
In the last little while, Not Applicable, home to all things exploratory, have been doing the honours for the last few; but this album, possibly their last, has taken ten years to compile as files were sent between the UK and Australia, two guys tinkering in bedrooms as if the last forty years had never happened. Finally sitting together to finish things off and settling on a track-list, the ultimate Icarus album in many ways is a masterclass in magpie electronica, with not a single second of opportunity to draw breath.
The list of track titles such as “Mazda Bongo Friendee” and “Lemsip Max Relief”, among others, give nothing away but a latent air of mischief. Quite what Mazda would make of the sped-up to manic Bontempi beat and childlike-showers of electronic sparks is anyone’s guess, but the electronic dust spilling over the constant flow from outer space is gripping. The background goes in and out of focus and other sounds pass close by, only to disappear in the direction of infinity. The tracks are rhythm-oriented on the whole, with very different tempos and beats to keep things interesting. “Collectable Woodland Animals Armed With Heavy Weaponry” has a more complicated but also more nuanced rhythm and sounds as though tablas were involved. A warm, ever-evolving electronic swell fills the distance, all soft edges. It might sound a little like techno, but has none of the severity and is far too playful. In fact, all the tracks here seem to scamper but vary greatly in tone and strength. Ghostly echoes sit at odds with sped up gameplay, their cohesion inspired. As a listener you imagine that the library of sounds they have to offer is limitless and the juxtaposition of unlikely ones is part of the fun.“Lemsip Max Relief” comes almost across like a lullaby with its laid-back air. It shares headspace with some of the mellower Four Tet moments, with its ringing tones and easy sway. It comes and goes, drifting in a distorted sea, going further and further out until, due to some freak of nature, all tides have stopped and we are left adrift with no great desire to return to dry land. So to put that out of your mind, some madcap gabba business hits us between the eyes, flailing about like it is on fire, burning itself out only to re-ignite.
The changes of atmosphere make An Ever-growing Meridional Entertainment Transgression At The Edge Of The Multiverse all the more fun and the album dips out with a minimal drone-backed repetition smothered with pointillist synth drops. “Voodoo-Baroque-Vaporwave-Serialism” probably says all you need to know, but it is a roving evolution that is unable to settle and perhaps that is the modus operandi here.Everything is searching, a never-ending quest, but one that is delightful due to the playful tone and myriad ideas. If this is to be the last Icarus album, it is great swan song and one that will give up fresh secrets with every listen.
-Mr Olivetti-
