Review Summary: For their sophomore album, Icon For Hire abandons the script, leaps off the stage and runs screaming, naked, and on fire through the audience.
Just over two years ago, Decatur-based rock band Icon For Hire cast their debut album,
Scripted, into the dull and oft-formulaic seas of the Christian rock industry*. And it was good. Rather than placate the masses with a record chock full of generic religious lyrics and nonspecific-yet-obvious references to God,
Scripted capitalized on more complex and authentic lyrics peppered with a refreshingly edgy mixture of synths and beats.
With a sound that is pleasingly different from the bands they tour with, Icon For Hire is in a rare position to actually benefit from being formulaic, so long as it's their own formula. Unfortunately, the release of their self-titled sophomore album tries so hard to stand out from its predecessor, that it falls face first off the stage.
Icon for Hire sacrifices consistency and lyrical complexity for trying every trick in the book. In fact, it seems as though the band can’t even remain consistent within each song, often sharply changing tempo midway through verses. Ariel’s voice, and her deft lyrical acrobatics are often buried under over-production.
Odd points on this album include Ariel’s awkward attempt to rap and scream lyrics (“Cynics and Critics", “Sugar and Spice”), allusions to childhood rhymes (“Cynics and Critics”, “Nerves”, “Sugar and Spice”) and oddly placed (“Fix Me”) and paced ballads (“Hope and Morning”, “Slow Down”).
You really have to dredge through the album to find highlights, but a few do exist. “Sorry About Your Parents”, a song about, well, having crappy parents, is reminiscent in sound and style to “The Grey”, only shorter and with a faster tempo. “Rock and Roll Thugs”, despite the absurd title, starts off slow, but reaches a boil with probably the only convincingly emotional chorus in the entire album. “Fix Me” and “Counting on Hearts” round out the end of the album and could accurately be described as “minimal” when compared to the aural onslaught that is the rest of the album.
Song-by-song ratings:
Cynics & Critics ★★☆☆☆
Nerves ★★☆☆☆
Sugar and Spice ★★☆☆☆
Hope of Morning ★★★☆☆
Sorry About Your Parents ★★★★☆
Pop Culture ★★☆☆☆
Watch Me ★★☆☆☆
Slow Down ★★★☆☆
Rock and Roll Thugs ★★★★☆
Think I’m Sick ★★☆☆☆
Fix Me ★★★★☆
Counting on Hearts ★★★★☆
Album average: ★★★☆☆ (2.8, rounding down to 2.5)
Album recommended? No.
*Yes, although Ariel and the band deny the label of “Christian rock”, it’s hard to escape the label when you remain signed to the Christian music assembly line that is Tooth & Nail Records and when you tour with several other Christian rock bands.
