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IC 434
"The Banished"
Format:
CD/Album
Online date:
26/5 2002
Label:
Daft
Genre:
electronic body music
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.GIF)
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This is actually IC 434's third album, but don't worry if you've never heard of them before. There have never been much noise from them outside their native Belgium. The band consists mainly of Geert de Wilde, who does all the music and producing, but he uses a second member live, from time to time. IC 434 released their first album "Weathering Skies" back in 1996 thanks to Dirk Ivens from Dive. The release was actually the first on Daft Records subdivision Body Records. The second album "Dogondance" came out in 1998, and since then we haven't heard much from the band... until now.
The album starts off with an ambient sounding untitled intro, which turns into the first song "Electro Convulsion". This track hits me right in the face, it's pure electronic body music that sounds like it's been made in the middle of the eighties. The Klinik comes to mind when I search my head for an act that I can compare this to. In one way it doesn't sound like Klinik at all, but it's the closest that I can think off. The song ends too soon, I think; I want to hear more.
Fortunately, the next track makes me forget about that; "Harmony of Worlds" is one of the best songs I've heard in this genre for a long time. First it sounds like something I've heard before, it has a piano tune that sounds like they have plagiarized it from somewhere else. Of course they haven't, it's just one of those melodies that appears so brilliant right from the beginning that they sound like some other song.
Next up is another hit, namely "Strangeitudes". The melody is excellent and Geert's distorted voice is a pure joy to listen to. I actually had a big stupid smile on my face during the entire album.
"Our Great Nation" is an instrumental piece and contains samples from the American president George W Bush's speech to the nation after the terrorist attacks last fall. It fits in very well over the hard rhythms. A very cool track I must say. The hit parade isn't over yet, "Easter Island" goes on in the same way as the previous tracks.
You can tell that Geert de Wilde has been making music for a while (since 1990 to be
exact), 'cause he is that good at it. The cover of the album has in fact a picture from the Easter Islands and the lyrics of the song deals with the mysteries around the strange statues that can be found there. Halfway into the album things slow down a bit. "Someone's Suicide" is a much needed break if you're old and this kind of music is too much for you. Myself I find this track the only boring one on the entire album. It's an
ambient instrumental song that reminds me of the intro. The next one is also quite slow,
but much better than the previous one. To my great luck everything speeds up again and one of the best songs, "Animal Rights", hits me just like the first one did. This is so brilliant that I don't have words for it. The contest of the lyrics to this one reminds me a little about Skinny Puppy's animal rights songs. Nothing negative about that of course, more people should get engaged in the subject.
The last two songs doesn't disappoint me either. Hard hitting beats with harsh vocals. I just love "The Banished". It shows that there is still some hope for this genre, when most parts of it have been infected with future pop and techno. Nothing bad with that on one hand but when I hear bands like IC 434 it reminds me why I got into this scene in the first place. If this album doesn't become a hit something is very wrong with this world.
/Mattias Andersson
Check CDDB tracklists for this record:
IC 434"The Banished"
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