By: James Southworth
Rating: 2/5 Stars
Icon for Hire is a band that I've had a complicated history with. Their debut album, "Scripted", still remains to be one of my favorite debuts done by any band. Ariel's incredible vocals really show through on this album. Pretty much ever song has a great driving rock sound with some unique pop flare that works. There are many memorable songs on the album such as "Get Well", "Off With Her Head" (my personal favorite), and "Up in Flames". Their second album came out surrounding controversy about the band saying very explicitly they didn't want to be called a Christian band anymore. A lot of bands like to call themselves a band of Christians, but Ariel seemed to almost be rejecting of the faith entirely. I didn't have a huge problem with that controversy. My biggest issue was that the album was a little bit disappointing. It did have the band's best song to date in "Critics and Cynics", as well as a few other fun tracks like "Pop Culture", "Counting Hearts", and "Nerves". But the album was not as good as their debut otherwise, having several cliched pop/rock tendencies, with some awkward rapping from Ariel. It wasn't entirely bad, but it wasn't entirely great, either. I totally hated the band's post-record label debut single in 2015 called "Now You Know". It had a horrifying feminazi backbone. There is a hate-filled message tearing down men in and outside of the music industry. The song did not work for me at all, and seemed to be against what the band stood for previously. So, I was definitely hesitant going into IFH's new album, "You Can't Kill Us".
Unfortunately the negatives outweigh the positives frequently through this album, but let me get started with some positives. There are some gems in this album that shouldn't be missed. The opening track "Supposed to Be" combines what what best about the band's debut "Scripted" and their self-titled second release. Putting the best of those two releases together in one song makes for one of IFH's best songs to date. The track is pure fire, especially with its driving guitar rhythm, and Ariel's super talented vocals really belting out the lyrics with passion. The lyrics are very compelling as Ariel is asking in the perspective of another person who she's supposed to be without depression in her life: "Tell me who I’m supposed to be now/Make me better/I can’t stay halfway dead forever". A common theme of this album is rejecting the negativity you used to live with (Icon for Hire's negativity being their dispute with Tooth and Nail records, which made them go bankrupt), and trying to lift yourself up to a better place. That theme is repeated too much throughout this album, but it works at least in this song. The title track feels like it could fit right onto "Scripted", as it's the track that hits the hardest. The guitar riff is memorable, and Ariel's vocals still work excellently with the harder rock feel. "Under the Knife" is an emotional track that addresses people who cut. I could see the main message IFH were trying to bring across here more than any other track. This song felt honest, and I understood how it could connect with other people. Although I'm not usually a big fan of Ariel's rapping, her flow in this song works better than any other one on the album, because it feels like Ariel has a real passion for what she's talking about.
Unfortunately, those are the only tracks on this album that I feel I can recommend. Most of the other songs on here can range from filler to cringe worthy in both the musical and lyrical department. Let's get the unmemorable ones out of the way first; there's not much to say about them. I respect what IFH was trying to do with "Get Well II", but it simply can't compare to the more emotionally connecting original song. The song felt more like fan service than anything. The theme was the same as the original song (faking happiness because that's what everyone else is comfortable with), but it doesn't hold much weight. I didn't necessarily hate this song, but it didn't stick out. Another unmemorable song comes in "Invincible", which is as typical a pump-up song you can get. It tries to come across as big by being loud in the vocal and musical department, but that doesn't make for a good song. In fact, that's what a majority of the album suffers from: trying to make emotion from being loud. Other unmemorable tracks appear in "War" and "Too Loud" (which, ironically, uses technical effects to make Ariel's voice sound soft).
The rest of the tracks on this album are insufferable to me. "Demons" has an absolutely bizarre backing beat that does not work with the vocal performance. The content of the song is as generic as it gets, using demons as a metaphor for addictions. I know that IFH can be more creative than that. I don't get why they use the same stuff every other band is using if they're wanting to be such a different and edgy group. Pretentious self-praise appears in the song "Pulse", where Icon for Hire seems to put themselves on a pedestal above bands that associate with record labels. I get they're calling out Tooth and Nail for part of this song, but they seem to imply that the label stifles the creativity of literally EVERY band associated with them: "Stuck us in boxes, that’s where you want us/Cardboard is boring, we brought our matches /Stuck us in boxes, that’s where you want us/Cardboard is boring- look how it burns". I'm not gonna pretend that Tooth and Nail is flawless, but I think it's a little unwarranted for Icon for Hire to say Tooth and Nail has stuck all the bands associated with them in boxes when many bands have thrived under their label. The song also has a beginning electronic/drum pattern that reminds too much of "We Will Rock You" and Ariel repeats the word "pulse" way too much, stuttering the p's in an annoying way.
Even worse content appears in the extremely tedious song "The Magic", which has nothing of real redeemable value to it, with generic lyrics ("When you close your eyes/Somewhere are you still alive/Or do you feel, do you feel like you’re dead inside?"). The musicianship is not special; even Ariel's vocals couldn't save this song. "Happy Hurts" might be the most cringe worthy song. Where "Under the Knife" exceeded in addressing deep depression, this song fails in every way. The lyrics feel like they come right out of a diary entry- and I almost feel like that might be what IFH says was their purpose with the song, but that's not a good excuse. Also the way the words "happy hurts" are sung by Ariel feels awkward and forced. I think that Ariel believes she is being clever in this track with all the puns she uses. But pretty much every line here comes across as something you'd read on a Tumblr post. I personally think this song is a bit of an insult to people dealing with depression, as it seems to imply that people with depression can find happiness out of their deep sadness, which makes no sense whatsoever. This song is frustrating, and is probably my least favorite track because of how pathetically it tries to tackle a mental disease. Sadness is a good thing, but not in excess. This song seems to validate that sadness should be a part of our daily lifestyle; that we should validate it. That type of mentality is not only wrong, it's not going to help a depressed person recover. Two more bad tracks appear in "You Were Wrong", which is yet another tiresome pop song where IFH is convincing themselves that they are an amazing and inventive band. Ariel's vocals also sound very whiny in this song, especially in the verses. Even more problematic is the song "Here We Are", which uses many pop cliches. The song drowns Ariel in some annoying vocal effects, which try to come off as being inspirational, but instead make Ariel's voice sound unbelievably processed.
I am at a crossroads here for "You Can't Kill Us". On one hand, I am glad that Icon for Hire broke free of what was apparently a bad record deal. I never got to know Tooth and Nail's side of the argument, and I've never heard of another negative story coming from this label, so I don't know who is to blame. On the other hand, I also think that Icon for Hire can be a little bit full of themselves. Yes, there are songs on this album that feel sincere. But then, there are others on here which are just drowned in cliches both musically and lyrically. I find it ironic that they call out other bands for being generic when they seem to have adapted the generic tendencies of those groups in this release. I just think I'm gonna have to accept this Icon for Hire isn't for me anymore. I'm glad that they've been able to connect with fans (although I'm hoping people with depression don't adapt the ideals promoted by "Happy Hurts"), and I guess their music is exactly what they want to do now. Not all of this album is a loss, as there are some songs which show hints of IFH's talent from their debut. However, for the most part this album is disappointing, generic, obnoxious, and self-absorbed.
Favorite Songs: "Supposed to Be", "Under the Knife", "You Can't Kill Us"
Least Favorite Songs: "Happy Hurts", "Here We Are", "Pulse", "You Were Wrong", "Demons", "The Magic"
No comments:
Post a Comment