Merchants Of Air
  • Home
  • Reviews
    • Albums
    • Concerts
  • Premieres
  • Interviews
  • Giveaways
  • Playlists
  • Shop
    • Merchants Of Air releases
  • About us
    • About Us
    • Writers Wanted
    • Logos and banner
    • Advertise
    • Mailinglist

Kid Ikarus - Playback Dreams

27/4/2016

Comments

 
post rock / electronica
bandcamp
facebook
Picture
Picture
Vintage concert posters at http://concertposters.be/
A music genre that refuses to evolve, is pretty much a doomed one.  Why? Well, because the majority of fans will see new bands as copycats who have nothing new to add. Those same people also refuse to listen to bands who do have something new to add, because "they're not loyal to the scene". Yeah, I know, some music fans are full-of-manure whiny little kids who themselves have nothing new to add to the whole damn industry.

Oh, wait. I'm writing a review, not a rant on shortsighted music fans. My apologies. Sometimes I get carried away a little. But that's a good thing. Like I told a good friend on mine the other day: "good albums inspire me to write, bad albums don't". So, Swiss post-rock band Kid Ikarus shouldn't really worry about the rest of this review. The writing is going perfectly fine, so this must be a good album, right?

Absolutely. It's their second full-length, one where the band looks beyond the boundaries of the post-rock genre without losing the awesome feel that this style of music presents. The album opens with something harsh and impending in 'Master Blaster' but gradually shows more than just influences from Mogwai and Explosions In The Sky. 'Endless Fun' (and several other songs), comes with a load of synths and electronics.

So perhaps it might be safe to say that we have a crossbreed of post-rock and trip-hop here, two genres known for their mild tempo and beautiful atmosphere. But it goes even further than that. I could mention influences from acts like Kraftwerk, Tangerine Dream and even psychedelic rock acts like Grobschnitt. Zürich is about 850 km from Berlin, but Kid Ikarus certainly know a thing or two about the Berliner Schüle.

Let's check out a few more songs. There's almost classic post-rock in the brilliant track 'Soft Power' while 'Sweet Secrets' smells like Jean Michel Jarre's synth hits, driving on a highly immersive bass line and illusive soundscapes. The album closes with the longest track, 'Blaster Master', which perfectly combines all of the previous elements into one massive post-rock track, certainly a highlight on this already impressive album.

So yeah, post-rock fans, ambient aficionados and vintage electronica loves should definitely check out this album. It's certainly good enough to stand next to the releases from the big names in this industry. At the moment, 'Playback Dreams' is knocking on the door to my best-of-2016 list. The competition is fierce and relentless, I know, so perhaps Kid Icarus should kick in that door with a few stunning performances to seal the deal.


​Serge
Comments
    subscribe to our newsletter

    Genres

    All
    Acoustic
    Alternative
    Ambient
    Avant Garde
    Avant-garde
    Black Metal
    Blues
    Children
    Classical
    Country
    Crust
    Dark Ambient
    Dark Jazz
    Darkwave
    Death Metal
    Doom
    Dream Pop
    Drone
    Drum & Bass
    Dub
    Dubstep
    EBM
    Electro
    Electronic
    Ethereal
    Experimental
    Folk
    Folk Metal
    Funk
    Gothic
    Grindcore
    Grunge
    Hardcore
    Hard Rock
    Heavy Metal
    Hip Hop
    Hip-hop
    Idm
    Indie
    Industrial
    Instrumental
    Jazz
    Krautrock
    Martial
    Math Rock
    Metal
    Metalcore
    Neo Classical
    Neo-classical
    Neo Folk
    Neo-folk
    Noise
    Noise Rock
    Noise-rock
    Nu Metal
    Nu-metal
    Opera
    Pop
    Post Metal
    Post Punk
    Post Rock
    Progressive
    Psychedelic
    Psytrance
    Punk
    Reggae
    Rock
    Score
    Shoegaze
    Singer/songwriter
    Sludge
    Soul
    Southern Rock
    Speed Metal
    Stoner
    Symphonic Metal
    Synthpop
    Techno
    Thrash
    Triphop
    Trip-hop
    World

    Archives

    July 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015

Find us on

facebook
google+
twitter
tumblr
​
minds

About Us

Contact
FAQ
Logos and banners
© COPYRIGHT 2015. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.