#icebird magnitude

[icebirdband]

Icebird “Magnitude” Alternative Malta album review

The tip of the Icebird

No matter how they sound, when you hear a group play and you feel passion and love for the music then you know the band’s great, and trust me Los Angeles’ Icebird have loads of passion for their art and it brims over with every song.

Although to classify this group as post-punk would be wrong I would definitely call this arty (but not farty) rock with tinges of Joy Division, Sonic Youth and Television scattered throughout. Completed by the sheer wall of noise the band creates you know you’ve got something good here. Jagged guitar lines, droning feedback and dominant basslines feature heavily in the album. One gets the feeling that the band is one big sparking ball of energy ready to torch the world, screaming (and yes the vocalist screams) its way through. But it has melody cranked up to eleven and the tunes have a way of drilling their way into your head. Plus its a forty minute rush that doesn’t flag once, so its got your attention from the first (and opener ‘The Clap The Burn The End’ makes a statement) to the last note.

If I have one complaint I would say its the production. If it was less muffled the band’s fury would come thru better, but it doesn’t stop you from enjoying this album. So yeah, cool by name and cool by nature. The Icebird cometh!

[icebirdband]

Review of Icebird ‘Magnitude’ from over at Hybrid Magazine.

Icebird Magnitude Flying Squirrel Records www.icebirdband.com

Icebird has a lot of things going for them; unfortunately production isn't one of them. Harkening back to early nineties alternate garage rock a la' Sonic Youth and even Nirvana circa Bleach, this three-piece creates an authentic grunge feel that alternates between loud and soft with subtle rhythm changes. A lot of what makes this album successful are the songs themselves; they are focused and straight-forward providing memorable lines and singable vocals, and break from their structure just enough to remain interesting. Each song varies its own personal intensity through the course of the track, making it hard to define whether a song is strictly hard or soft. This is an interesting effect that heightens the feel of the album and keeps you guessing as the album progresses.

The major hindrance by far is the production. While it adds to the garage air of the material it is not uniform and so sporadic to the point of distracting from the record. The drums are muddled and chaotic, on the edge of too much at some points and too little at others. The guitar also shows this mentality which is all the more apparent because the band is a trio. When power chords are used the space is filled nicely, when single note lines are used it almost becomes too hollow. The bass suffers the most from the recording levels as each song constantly gyps the instrument of its due presence. Ultimately, intensity and energy are just plain lost due to the lackluster recording.

So why bother? Because the material is damn good and even if it is a partial amount of the whole, there is still a good amount of energy and vibe to be had. Also, there is hope that the band might latch onto a good producer who can capture their true essence and take them that next step towards greatness. Personally I will continue to keep this in the rotation because it reminds me of all of the crappy good albums I have listened to - so I get a nostalgic fix just putting on the headphones and being carried away to a different time and place.

-bishop

Track listing: 1) The Clap The Burn The End 2) Voids 3) The Starting Line 4) You're An Animal 5) My Second Guessing 6) Ohio 7) Birthday Party 8) The Real Pretend 9) Shark-toothed Boy 10) Hollywon't 11) ABABA BABABA

[icebirdband]

ICEBIRD “Magnitude” - Flying Squirrel Records September 2005 review Culture Bunker Noise www.culturebunker.com

If they gave awards for song titles, I’d nominate Icebird for their “The Clap, The Burn, The End.” This garage trio from LA gives a down and dirty tour of the rock gutter on their debut LP. Led by the tall, thin, hairy and beardy Monahan brothers, Barry and Mike, who sandwich drummer Kate Wise. The Icebird sound is powered by note based noise and underground song structures. Forget chord patterns, this is more sinister and loose, like The Fall, Mudhoney and something obscure like... Flesheaters. Clearly they’re influenced by the outsider indie bands of the late 70s and early 80s, as well as protopunk like Stooges. On “The Starting Line,” a simple propulsive beat allows some room in the song, space for Barry to get a little weirded out with tortured vocals and a monotone bass line. Throughout, the guitars are abrasive and on the offense, the songs are unwelcoming and aggressive - the way underground rock used to be and should be again. This record is fairly lo-fi and appears to have minimal, if any overdubbings and studio effects, like it was basically recorded live in the studio. I think this is a great way to capture some energy and vibe, a good move for a debut, rather than let the studio monotony suck the life out. Many of the leads and guitar-bass interplay sound almost goth, like a garage version of Bauhaus (think of “In The Flat Field”), but faster and without the pretense. There’s a song here called “Birthday Party,” and that should be a clue as to part of their ancestry, although nowhere near as self-aware. This is gritty, underground noise. -- Sid Arthur

[icebirdband]

Icebird “Magnitude” album review by Slightly Confusing to a Stranger Icebird hail from a little stardust-tinged town called Los Angeles, you may have heard of it - on the coastal edge of California. You need to know about Icebird, a trio that immediately jumps out of the gates on Magnitude - their debut release on LA's Flying Squirrel Records. This is an LP that visits ground infiltrated by past "rock" giants Unwound (the instrumentation), Sonic Youth (Barry Monahan's unkempt, coarse delivery; again the style) and - before I drop this, remember all the good you new about them - Nirvana (hear: "My second guessing"). Particularly on the latter example, you have Barry on lead vocals and guitar (he flunked guitar class twice!) as well as Kate Wise, drummer / vocals, lending her spectacular voice all seamed together by brother Mikes (Monahan) 4-string pattern holding. I must add, they rip through a ferocious number called "Hollywon't" that revels no distinguishable lyrics - only a little over a minute of free-form fury, that lead's into the albums closer "Ababa Bababa" that holds nothing back.

There's no catch here, no glam or gimmick - just 3 talented friends entering a recording space, picking up their tools and laying down a true rock album. For a debut record this distant from the current 'norm' to see light is one blessing - but for said album to also be the initial release on an upstart label (Flying Squirrel) is a treasure and a sign of, hopefully, things yet to come. Sure, some kids are gonna be confused as to why there are only 3 members in a band - versus 7, and why the music they are hearing isn't immediately fit for selling common automobiles on commercial television - but hopefully a band like Icebird can reverse some of the damage done to our warped youth. A damn fine album, enough said!

[icebirdband]

Icebird • Magnitude • Flying Squirrel Records

Impact Press Winter 2006 album reviews

Los Angeles has always been the breeding grounds for young and dangerous new rock groups. Having said that, Icebird are among the new wave of young groups who draw their influences from a time when people were more willing to say what they mean and just plain rock out. If you're a fan of The Stooges, Sonic Youth or The Pixies this is highly recommend to you. (RP)

[icebirdband]

Icebird Magnitude album review

Semtex Magazine Reviews Independent Music Publication http://www.semtexinc.com Icebird plays the kind of post-whatever that’s punk enough to be cool, even these days. I mean, it’s clear, listen to the production of these songs and the purring sound of the guitar and you’ll know these guys don’t care much about being on the hippest national radio show. Genres aren’t to be taken seriously as well, and instrumental skills are of secondary importance. Forget tonal chords and music class, this is a loose clash of ideas and garage attitude.

Icebird is a trio, from the US of A. They released this debut album called Magnitude earlier this year and the overall mood that hangs over it is to be situated somewhere between Joy Division’s Closer, KRMTX’ Plaster Hounds and Nirvana’s Nevermind. I guess you know what I mean: this is not the most happy record in the most cheering production.

Musically, Magnitude changes directions like the needle of a seismograph. This one song is like it’s off a crappy street punk band’s demo, another one sounds like a raw, tortured and aggressive version of Nirvana. Sonic Youth and The Fall pass the revue as well, and I even hear a sneering version of Franz Ferdinand. All played in the sound of Chromatics’ Plaster Hounds. Can you imagine so much dirt? It’s very abrasive and has a fuck you / I don’t care attitude all over it, much as if it’s coming out of the darkest underground rock venue. Every song is incredibly simple with monotonous bass lines, drumming and seemingly uninspiring guitar riffs, but in the end it’s very effective and to the point. There’s some fucking great songs on here, like The Starting Line, Ohio or My Second Guessing, where drummer Kate Wise gives vocal support. I guess that, after the revival of the eighties, the nineties are coming back. Grunge is in the air kids, I can feel it. Fucking hell. This album has so much dirt and desperation all over it and yet I’m caught by its genuineness. I’m sure you’ll all hate it, but can you believe I started to love this record?

[bytte]

[icebirdband]

The legendary, original 2005 Icebird Magnitude Album Cover T-Shirt��is back at the Icebird Shop.

[icebirdband]

VOL 12 ISSUE 01 AUGUST 22nd, 2005 WWW.SYNTHESIS.NET FREE SYNTHESIS

Icebird Magnitude FLYING SQUIRREL This is the debut album from Los Angeles indie rock trio Icebird, and it is fully capable of replacing coffee as a way to wake yourself up in the morning. Guitarist/vocalist Barry Monahan gets the kind of rattle out of his guitar that would make a baby jealous. It is this constant raging, jagged guitar sound as heard on "The Clap The Burn The End," "Birthday Party" and nearly everywhere else on Magnitude that is one of two focal points of the album. The other is the singing of Monahan, which varies between pleading, voice breaking volume on the scorching "ABABA BABABA" to plaintive on the mellower "My Second Guessing," during which he's joined by drummer Kate Wise. Connell Burton McDaniel

[icebirdband]

Icebird Magnitude review - Prefix Magazine.

Magnitude

7

jeasley

-August 9, 2005

I’ve always been led to believe that Los Angeles had a dark, dangerous and complicated core. A walk through Hollywood (in the daytime, no less) is enough to give you chills. I’d just always assumed that with Beverly Hills a mile away it’s probably just a superficial ploy to stunt western migration. Icebird is a Koreatown threesome with enough scary energy to suggest that beneath the dirty surface and glam interior, strange things actually do cultivate in the city’s wet corners. The band seems to have grown out of the ’90s grit that most bands today are too scared to build on. For all the countless Nine Inch Nails imitators, nobody was man enough to take on the Jesus Lizard?

Icebird is game, and Magnitude is a raw, ferocious debut. “The Clap the Burn the End” is a safe enough opener. What’s good for Franz Ferdinand is probably good for a band working to get noticed, and the band spins Gang of Four’s “Ether” to its advantage. The stilted, direct guitar heads on a bee line around the vocals, but things get a little messier as the album progresses. “The Starting Line” is a good example of that. Lead singer Barry Monahan (his brother Mike on bass and Kate Wise on drums close out the group) feeds off the Jesus Lizard’s David Yow by slowing down to speak at times (“Birthday Party”) before going back to sounding like Satan. I’m pretty sure Yow is trapped in a nightmare somewhere, and Magnitude gives off that same vibe.

Fans of the Meat Puppets’ early work will like what they get here. Icebird is relentless with the cavalier wailing over quick-fingered super-speed guitar work (although the Meat Puppets similarities end there). Monahan seems to have taken the rest of his vocal style from Sonic Youth’s Thurston Moore, with always-desperate and occasionally drawn-out “harmonizing” (“Ohio” and “The Real Pretend”). Those who like their punk in short, sporadic bursts would probably rather Icebird hadn’t taken that quality from Sonic Youth. Some of the tracks are a bit too ambitious in length, although as I await Oliver Stone’s Alexander from Netflix I have to remember that it’s better to fail on the side of ambition. This is a minor issue, and the members of Icebird even manage to nail it when they think Minutemen on the seventy-four-second-long “Hollywon’t.”

For those who have fallen into a rut trying to find the next Shins, Magnitude is a dirty little surprise that reminds us that punk can be indie, too. And it’s comforting to know people are still doing weird things behind closed doors in L.A.

[icebirdband]

Icebird, Downtown Rehearsals, Los Angeles. 2007

[icebirdband]

Icebird Los Angeles

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Ababa Bababa by Icebird

[icebirdband]

Icebird Magnitude January 2006 Rumbles album review by Terrascope.co.uk

Coming on like a tightly coiled ball of energy, Icebird have managed the difficult task of recording their (no doubt) live intensity in a studio setting. Their debut album “ Magnitude” sounds like a down and out Dinosaur JR sharing a bottle with Shellac and the wipers, the whole album crackling with noise; a non stop avalanche of bass heavy riffs, chaotic guitar and powerful drumming, that rattles around your brain in joyous abandon. You may have heard it before but rarely is it done so honestly, a band worth tracking down.

[icebirdband]

by Jessica Amason

ICEBIRD LANDING IN NYC Hailing from the land of high fashion and high self-awareness, Icebird are a refreshingly bare-bones art-rock trio representing the other side of Los Angeles. Boasting a killer debut titled Magnitude on Flying Squirrel Records, the group harness the off-kilter intensity of Sonic Youth and the Pixies. Between Barry Monahan's guttural whine and coarse guitar, Mike Monahan's unembellished bass work and Kate Wise' gravelly drum style and vocals, Icebird are not to be overlooked. In fact the three-piece performed in NYC last week, but if you missed them you can get their album from flyingsquirrelrecords.com or icebird.com www.theaquarian.com ARTS WEEKLY OCTOBER 12, 2005 37