Slave Vows is - easily the finest guitar album The Icarus Line have produced since Aaron North precariously sprinted across a row of trembling amps to crash out the window and join Nine Inch Nails in 2005.
An eminently powerful work of rock ‘n’ roll from start to finish, Slave Vows hasn’t saved the soul of rock music, but it sure as hell has revitalized it.
There’s too much spirit in this cocktail for the mixer to spoil it.
Their live energy is faithfully reproduced, but without disregard for some of the flourishes that two months of studio time allow for - this is surely the year's most blistering rock record so far.
Cardamone’s crew are at their peak when moving between the simmering heat and the fireball, and these drawn-out song structures give them more space than ever to explore the tension between nervy build-up and cathartic release.
It's with Slave Vows that the Icarus Line continue on their road to redemption, offering up their best record since the one that should've made them contenders.
#39 | / | musicOMH |
#65 | / | PopMatters |