Icarus The Owl

Qualia EP

Written by: TL on 26/01/2011 16:43:56

Some time last year, I reviewed a band called Icarus The Owl, and the dudes in the band must have liked what I had to say about them, because they've recently sent their new EP "Qualia" in for another review. Those of you who don't remember or didn't read my first review of the band, may return and do so if you want to know what ICO sound like, because proceedings are hardly much different here on "Qualia EP", where mathy compositions, blistering guitars and high-pitched vocals are still the order of the day.

Last time around, one of the hurdles I mentioned ICO had to clear, was that their record had so many samey sounding songs, that the best ones were in danger of drowning in the mass of material. I guess one way of getting around that is to release a four track EP. I also said however, that the good thing about the band was how they mostly managed to keep their desire for experimentation in check, and structure their songs in a relatively listener-friendly manner, and with this in mind, the first couple of times I listened to "Qualia" I was thinking that maybe they got a bit carried away with the experimentation this time around.

While a song like "Mythomaniac" continously returns me to that state of mind however, others like "Mouse Trap" and "Vagabond" will reveal memorable elements after a few listens, fortifying the impression that this EP is pretty much business as usual in ICO-ville. If you haven't heard the band before, I recommend you check out their full album first, but if you have and you liked them, then this is essentially more of the same for you. I still feel like the band would get better if they tried to expand outside their comfort zone a bit, adding some versatility to their repertoire, but for the time being, there's no reason to not just enjoy a few more songs of the same good kind.

7

Download: Mouse Trap, Vagabond
For The Fans Of: Lovehatehero, Dance Gavin Dance, City Escape
Listen: icarustheowl.bandcamp.com

Release Date 01.02.2011
**Self-released**



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