Blogcritics The critical lens on today's culture & entertainment
From the opening moments of Iceage Cobra’s Brilliant Ideas from Amazing People, your eardrums are given proof that they are no longer in Kansas, anymore. By the time it takes you to do a double take and stare in wide-eyed wonder at the sounds coming from your stereo speakers, the very thought of ever wanting to return to boring ol’ Kansas will never again cross your mind.
Unless, of course, you live in Kansas… oops!
Sounding like a delicious mash-up of the Ramones and Rollins-era Black Flag, Iceage Cobra has crafted an album that just swaggers with eclectic funk. Hell, you may as well just add Frank Zappa to the Ramones and Black Flag, when you’re trying to visualize what Brilliant Ideas From Amazing People sounds like.
The wonderful thing — the funky, chunky, bass-filled joy of the thing — is that, despite the fact that you can instantly hear the genetics of inspiration that help craft Iceage Cobra’s sound, is that it is definitely and uniquely their sound.
Lord help anyone that tried to cop their style, actually.
From the frat-party groove of “We Gotta Move” to the snarling boogie of “Dance Floor’s On Fire,” all the way down the album until you finish on “Do The Black Lung,” I cannot recall an album that has ever had me laughing and just enjoying the music, as much as this one has.
I could sit here and type that this album has reaffirmed my hopes and dreams that rock isn’t dead; that it is a live and vibrant thing. While the album does a good job at those things, that’s not what I think it should be expected to do. It isn’t here to save rock and roll… it’s just here to have a damn good time.
It’s not pretty, it’s not precise and perfectly polished to death, it’s just a damn good record by a damn good band. While my babbling in this review may not be enough to convince you to give this album a spin, head on over to the band’s myspace page and give a listen to some of their songs.
Your ears will give you a better reason than my words ever could.
