Unfortunately for Archers of Loaf they were never able to receive much mainstream success. Even on a website such as sputnikmusic the band is still ignored which really is a shame. I say this because bands such as Pavement and Built to Spill are extremely popular in the underground world of music while Archers of Loaf are ignored. I’m writing this review because if you enjoy the two bands that I mentioned above then you’re more then likely to enjoy
Icky Mettle.
While a lot of indie rock groups during the 90's had sort of a slacker edge to them Archers of Loaf show a lot of intensity. With two guitar players in the band the music is extremely fuzzy, chaotic, and messy. The hard rocking guitar riffs create a wall of sound, Eric Bachmanns angst ridden vocals are buried deep in the mix of crashing guitars and rumbling bass-lines. Most of the songs are around two to three minutes long and this benefits the listener because if the songs went on any longer then your head may start to hurt. Although musically Archers of Loaf are very loud and unorganized their songs are still very addicting and catchy.
After listening to
Icky Mettle for the first time the songs sound kind of similar. There are a few angular breaks in a couple of songs but for the most part the music is in your face never giving you a chance to take a break. The music goes from the pop-punk riffs of
Wrong and
Hate Paste to angst-ridden indie-rock tunes (
Last Word,
You And Me) to insane noisefests (
Sickfile,
Slowworm) to the occasional subdued track (
Plumb Line). I’ll admit that
Icky Mettle does not show a great deal of diversity but it features just enough to get by without being repetitive.
Now I’m not saying that
Icky Mettle is any
Slanted & Enchanted or
Keep it Like A Secret but it’s definitely an album worth your time if you’re into noise-rock or indie-rock since the music is hard rocking, chaotic, fuzzy, compelling, and extremely catchy. Although it’s not as structured or melody driven as it could of been
Icky Mettle is still an excellent album that any fan of indie music will enjoy.
