Alternative Test Icicles.
Well where do I start? The Test Icicles are made up of three gentlemen from well, let's just see: Samual E was born in Miami, moved to Australia when he was young, did some rapping before ending up in London. Devente Hynes was born in Texas and moved to Edinburgh as a child with a love of the alternative until he heard Slipknot...and finally we have Rory Aggwelt who was raised in High Wycombe and who through many academic choices ended up in London – he has recently joined a 15-strong male voice choir. So this really sums up how hard it is to pigeon hole this boys!
First song, 'Your Biggest Mistake' could well be The Transplants with its hardcore/rap crossover and a chanting chorus of, "Your biggest mistake/Your biggest mistake..."and in the vein of the chorus to Judas Priest's classic 'Breakin' The Law'. 'Pull The Lever' however, falls into the slight realms of the popular guitar-led indie that is smothering the charts at the moment, although that said there are enough strange noises and different parts to make them sound original. Single, 'Boa Vs Python' is a fairly rocking indie number with flashes of glam for good measure.
'Catch it' is pure hardcore with a fast crashing snare beat and screaming vocals with a middle part that has rapid guitar strumming with almost rap vocals and bizarre sound effects, before things speed up again. 'Maintain The Focus' is a cross between Rachel Stamp and King Adora with their recent glam flashbacks. 'Snowball' has a fantastic drumbeat and guitars that sound retro. The vocals are very raw and a little Franz Ferdinand-esque - but better.
Later on we have, 'Sharks' that is early Faith No More in the bass and the silly lyrics. It's light, fun and welcomed. Following we have, 'Dancing On Pegs' which could well be the B52's with heavier music, think more in the vein of their 'Lobster' song as opposed to 'Love Shack'! The album finished off with 'Party On Dudes (Get Hype)', which is a good rock number, catchy as a cold and with more hooks than a fisherman. Then there's 'What's Michelle Like', which is one of those filler songs that pops up on an early Marilyn Manson album as noise and screeching talking/singing about nothing in particular.
So all in all you'll have a job to find anything remotely like this, however that isn't always a good thing. It's a nice break from the usually indie drivel, and there is certainly enough highlights here to cover the CD price, whilst giving you that little something different in your record collection. Why not, eh?