Liquid Grey Ice – No More
Liquid Grey Ice are an experimental krautrock band from College Park, Maryland. Fusing ambience and progressive rock into their suites, their debut No More does an exquisite job at showcasing the band’s talents. It may not be wholly original, though it’s remarkably energetic.
The opening two live performances would have been incredible to see live, and they’re captured well by the recording equipment. The drums are clear, punchy, and orderly arranged. The synthetics, while subtle, add immaculate ambience to the already fulfilling soundscape. Both lengthy jams are impressive and well executed, and end in a terrific climax. Chase introduces sounds reminiscent of Don Caballero, though repackages them into a funkier suite. Europa, Io, Callisto also harkens back to Caballero, though in a more direct manner. LOVE EVERY MINUTE starts off somewhat cheesy, until its extravagant ferocious guitars. The arpeggio outro gives the track much needed personality. The closer, NOW I KNOW, is an unfocused mess that should have been omitted, or more tightly composed/refined. While it may have worked in a live session, on tape it’s both tiresome and unnecessary. A proper fusion of electronics could have been a creative statement, though instead it’s a wasted opportunity. Thankfully, it’s not insulting enough to drag the overall album’s experience down – it’s merely disappointing.
Despite how absorbent and engaging these performances are, though, they lack a statement. No-wave industrial elements are undeniably fascinating, though they’ve been explored to death in the past 50 years. It’s irrefutable the band is exceptional at tackling lengthy pieces, though they struggle to cultivate a sound of their own. Would Phish had been as prolific had they copied the Grateful Dead’s sound? All Liquid Grey Ice needs is either a larger focus on electronics, or a larger palate of instrumentation, and they’ll unquestionably soar. For now, you ought to check out their solid debut below:
Good
Listen to it here:
Liquid Grey Ice – No More
