Customer Reviews

Icarus

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

What separates this band from pretty much every other band is the rhythm - so intricate but so fluid to the point where you don't even notice how unusual it is. And the music somehow manages to be ridiculously catchy too. The song "Stel" is a masterpiece. Get this album right now.

Believe all of the excitement generated by this release, the countless cooing reviews and word of mouth are not to fall on deaf ears. This is music at it's best, three ordinary men who have the power to play from their guts and make you feel it in yours. A true return to the vehemence of smaller bands who do what popular "musicians" of today could not even fathom. Get this record and pay attention to The Forms for they deserve it.

icarus' convoluted melodies and insane energy make you want to stand close to a stranger and bounce to the seductive, sinful music. crazy sexiness. sexy craziness. ...

i bought this album because i liked the cover art, and i haven't stopped listening to it. it takes everything i like about indie rock, distills everything i don't like about it, and then throws in some new innovations of its own (song structures, rhythms). the recording is spectacular (obviously steve albini gets some credit for that), and the singer is great. this album is only 20 minutes long, but i don't think it needs to be any longer. more records should be this length, scrapping the bad songs so people don't have to skip over them. all in all, a great record.

If you are looking for a great indiePop album, this is where its at. These guys are amazing. Can you believe it? WOW! SO AMAZING! Mellow guitars and innovative beats tied together with fluid basslines. Dizzang. They are good.

"In its best state, rock music invigorates me, changes my mood, triggers introspection or envelopes me with sheer sound."*

Icarus does just that.

The Forms seem to emit a mystique quality. No lyrics are printed. No band member information or pictures are shown. Just random outdoor images fill the cover and inner recesses of the album (mostly underneath shots of overpasses). The same thing goes for the twelve-page booklet included. Icarus is an enhanced CD, so there's a bonus Flash interactive menu that consists of, yes, more images of underbellies of overpasses. The only information given is that Icarus was recorded by Steve Albini and mastered by John Golden. And, perhaps, that's all you need to know.

When you first listen, The Forms' sound is familiar. This familiarity made me glow from within. I immediately said to myself, "These guys sound a lot like..." and then my mind drew a blank. Without pinpointing one particular band, The Forms form fresh, lean indie rock. The sound is so recognizable and memorable that it's easy enough to associate influences from others, but the sum total of The Forms' output comes across as being genuine and unique.

All three instruments are lucid and sharp. Grating strums of a crystalline guitar, detached drum beats, and punch-drunk bass rhythms intertwine, building up raw-boned, brittle-sounding song structures. Dulcet piano parts are also interjected within Icarus's clear-cut tracks.

On "Sunday 1," the line "I want to marry your memories" loitered in my head for the remainder of Icarus. The line, a lift from The Promise Ring's "Saturday," is a lovely pinch. Whether it was a conscious choice or not is unknown, but what fabulous lyrics to borrow.

When it comes to vocals, it's no secret that Albini is partial to submerging them in the music. Surprisingly, the vocals on Icarus are strikingly forthright. And Albini's love for recording with excess amounts of microphones definitely gives Icarus a rich tone, a benefit of captured reverb. And what's seized and felt is the jagged sound of the live experience.

Icarus's total running time is 18:19. Short, but unforgettable. It's a juicy release that leaves plenty of flavors to siphon. I spent much more time rummaging through my record collection to find at least one or two bands that closely matched the The Forms' sound. My search came up empty. It's a word oft overused, but The Forms truly are original. At first listen, Icarus will instantly elicit your "O" face.

*From Steve Albini's review of Slint's Spiderland that appeared in the 20 March 1991 issue of Melody Maker.

The Forms' pace is relaxing and enjoyable. I'm looking forward to the companion CD, Daedalus. If there is one:)

If you don't like music(meaning you listen to radio bands) don't buy this album. If you are a true music fan, and you know who you are, get this. If you don't like it at first, then listen to it over and over again, you should like it after the second or third time through. You will love this album!!

First and foremost, I'd like to say that I am truly upset by the way this album is being sold under the "used" and "new" (cheap CDs for the people who have little faith in what such an album could do for them) section, for two dollars and ninety six cents, none the less. WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU PEOPLE!? This album, in its enitrety, is a masterpiece. In fact, it is one of the few albums that I own that I can say there is absolutely nothing wrong with (among such winners as Pink Floyd's "Dark Side of the Moon", Neutral Milk Hotel's "In the Aeroplane Over the Sea", Wilco's "Yankee Hotel Foxtrot", and so on). To point out how moving, and wonderful this album is, I shall retell my story of how this album came to be my favorite album of the passed summer.
Now, (skipping all the crap before this) a good friend of mine who has always recommended contemporary materpieces to me, burned me a copy of this album (along with the Desert Fathers, which is another fantastic band you should be aware of. But that's beside the point) after I showed a slight interest in the guitar work I had heard briefly. So, when I arrived at home late at night, I placed this album in my CD player and just let it play. At first, well, I wasn't at all impressed. The vocals were messy, the guitar was far too distorted, and it just seemed to be nothing special (but keep in mind, I was still excited for the Warped Tour at this time, blach). I also felt like the recording was horrid... "it sounded like it was recorded in someones garage in the 80's," was my initial response. Little did I know that this album was recorded by Steve Albini... If I had known this at the time, I may have paid more attention to the album the first time around. Now, don't let this discourage you, because I did say it is one of my favorite albums of all time. So, after the album was over (oh, yeah... the album is about the length of an average EP/Singles Set: a record eighteen minutes and nineteen seconds), I decided to play it again since I had felt as though I'd missed the entire thing. So, I played it again. This time, a few things caught my attention: a few melodies in certain songs, the accented piano in 'Stravinsky', the way Ecco Terres (Alex Tween) wailed and screamed like an emo artist with an adrenaline kick, and even the bass made me smile a bit. It was slightly resonant of SDRE's (Sunny Day Real Estate for all you uneducated "music enthusists.") Well, since I still felt like I wasn't getting the full effect of this album, I kept listening. And on and on I went, replaying this CD in its entirity until I "got it". Now, I still struggled with Stel (parts I and II) but all and all, it was wonderful. I had never felt so much passion when Ecco Terres screamed in "Black Metal", or how well put together the album is. I had never fully comprehended how complicated the guitar rythms were, or how perfectly the basslines complimented the pattern and ascencion of the drums. The time signatures were extrordinary in certain areas, and the vocals, along with the lyrics were so foreign but warm and inviting. They floated atop the flowing melodies and breezy harmonies. Needless to say, I ate this album up. And to this day, I still force it into my girlfriends CD played and pretend I am Ecco Terres or one of the Kenny brothers as the moving bassline in "Innizar (pt. II)" comes in after being faded out, then simply climax's with Ecco almost exhaling an unidentifiable sound. In a sense, I almost believe him to be a siren (greek mythology), coaxing you into the music and giving you a little taste of Forms excellence, yet prolonging pure, exquisite bliss until the very last few chords. If you have ever listened to the entire "Icarus" album, at the end of "Black Metal", there's a build up (not a climax... "Classical" does that), and then suddenly, it fades out, then back in to three chords that end the album, making you feel complete. There's nothing else to say, this album makes me feel infinate; like I am an untouchable child, again. Look, I've said enough. The Forms rule. This album rules. Please, please.. heed my advice: Buy this album (from Threespheres).

OMG the music is sooooooo cool in this album, the drummer has some pretty hot beats!!!! this albums ROCKS!!!!!!!! everyone should buy it