Tag: Ice Cream

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

Comprised of Michael Young, Ryan Hayes, Ryan Cross, Glen Scheidt and Travis Girton, the Portland, OR-based indie rock quintet King Who will be releasing their Hutch Harris-produced sophomore full-length album Giant Eye through SELF Group on August 17, 2018 — and reportedly, the album finds the up-and-coming quintet expanding upon their sound as they increasingly incorporate elements of New Wave, post-punk and dream pop  while retaining the heavy bass of their full-length debut Us Lights. Interestingly, Giant Eye‘s first single, the slow-burning “Ice Cream” sonically finds the band drawing from shoegaze and dream pop as the song is centered around shimmering guitar chords, a propulsive rhythm section, a soaring hook and Micheal Young’s plaintive falsetto — and while the song draws from 120 Minutes-era all rock, it has a clean, modern production sheen that makes the song a bit anachronistic.

 

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

With the release of the We’re Set EP, which featured standout singles “Wild” and “Surfer Girl,” the San Francisco, CA-based indie rock/garage rock quartet The Band Ice Cream, comprised of Kevin Fielding (vocals, guitar), Joe Sample (vocals guitar), Bryce Fernandez (bass) and Louie Rappoport (drums), quickly developed a national reputation for a fuzzy, scuzzy alt rock-leaning sound that draws from Nirvana, The Strokes, The White Stripes, The Orwells, Pavement and Link Wray — and for opening for the likes of Hinds, Night Beats, Adult Books, SWMRS, The Aquadolls and others. Adding to a growing profile, the band’s last EP caught the attention of legendary producer and sound engineer Bruce Botnick, who’s best known for his work with The Doors and The Beach Boys, and along with San Francisco underground rock legend Mike Carnahan worked with the band on their forthcoming full-length debut Classical Trained, slated for a March 10, 2017.

Classically Trained‘s latest single “Seventeen” manages to evoke the awkwardness and uncertainty of being a stupid teenage kid while looking back at it with a wistful nostalgia over that period’s seeming simplicity and deep friendships– and without as many devastating mistakes, poor choices, unending complications and uneasy compromises. And while the band has developed reputation for scuzzy garage rock, the band’s latest single manages to be clearly indebted to power pop, thanks to anthemic hooks and some guitar pyrotechnics; but in an expansive, and meandering song structure that possesses both a muscular insistence and a mischievous and ironic wit.