Review: Icarus Phoenix – I Should Have Known The Things You Never Said

Icarus Phoenix
I Should Have Known The Things You Never Said
Self-Released
Street: 08.15
Icarus Phoenix = Bright eyes + Big Thief + Death Cab for Cutie

Maryland indie dream group Icarus Phoenix’ fourth album I Should Have Known The Things You Never Said sits as an absolute triumph. Formed initially in Montana and going through a variety of lineups, Icarus Phoenix may have captured absolute lightning in a bottle with their latest release. Produced in Provo Utah by Jed Jones of June Audio (The Killers, Post Malone), I Should Have Known The Things You Never Said feels like a mature evolution for the band with intentional songwriting at every corner. The opening instrumentation felt like curtains opening for a play, something that could be compared to a Radiohead song with its sweeping phaser pedals and bizarre and industrial percussion. A mosaic of different inspirations, Icarus Phoenix’ I Should Have Known The Things You Never Said is a smash artistic success and could easily secure the band their own audience.

With Indie Folk influences such as Death Cab for Cutie and maybe a dash of Neutral Milk Hotel, the vocals on the project on the opening track work as an excellent hook for the audience and the interesting warm production sets the track as an absolute showcase of the band at their best on the project. Going down the project I return to my previous point of every track feeling intentional; nearly every track feels like it could have made its case for being a single. The second track “Live. Give. Lose. Grow.” feels like a thesis of indie rock of the early 2000s with its plucky guitars and woeful lyrics. Collaborating with fellow Indie Folk artists Teleprom, Neva Divona, Corbino, and Lake Mary, there isn’t a particular track that feels like it shouldn’t be on the project. Every song crafts a perfect piece of the puzzle that is the aesthetic of the dream folk album. Songs like “Doctor! Doctor!” trake an intimate analysis into suicidal ideation, with the singer listing off every way and reason to stay alive. The three singles (“Doctor! Doctor!”, “High Tide”, and “Painting”) find a more pop sensibility and maybe even a touch catchier than the rest, but there are definite gems hidden in this project for everybody. The opening of “In The Blood” starts with a very biological sounding percussion and production that pushes the project’s aesthetic even further into nature. Even all the way to the end of the project, Icarus Phoenix finds a way to keep you entranced with the closer “Kinashami” feeling like a track from Arcade Fire’s Neon Bible. The somber album feels like its own world of reflection, I could best compare it to feeling like a therapy session in the forest with a cabin alongside whimsical creatures of the green. Some of my favorite tracks on the project were “The Things You Never Told Me”, “Live. Give. Lose. Grow.”, and “Kanashimi”; sincerely it would feel disingenuous to say any were my least favorite. In reflection, I might be so bold to say that this is my favorite Indie/Folk release of the year. 

In conclusion, I Should Have Known The Things You Never Said seriously surprised me with not only the impressive productions and crispness of the tracks, but the aesthetic and writing ability as well. With the band going through different forms of their lineup in the past, it seems that this may be their peak instrumental prowess. With this being the groups fourth album release of the last three years, there is absolutely a chance that if the group finds their own niche audience they could absolutely skyrocket. If you want to hear the album live, Icarus Phoenix is currently on tour across the East Coast with tickets being sold via their Bandsintown link. –Jake Fabbri

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