SPILL ALBUM REVIEW: THE ICEBERGS – ADD VICE

The Icebergs
Add Vice
Imaginator Records

Putting it down in written form, this is how things stand with NYC trio The Icebergs and their latest album Add Vice: we have a singing poet, a cellist that plays his instrument like a guitar and a drummer with a small drum kit. Jane LeCroy is a poetry historian who picks up classic poetry, Tom Abbs is better known for his avant-garde excursions and David Rogers-Berry also plays in a gothic americana band O’Death.

That being said, it sounds quite odd, and frankly it is. On the other hand, it isn’t. You see, The Icebergs not only summon classic poetry, but also any music style they are familiar with–and they are certainly familiar with quite a few of them. It could be the jazz noir of the introductory “Fallen Angel, the reggae shuffle blend of “I Made It Rain”, or the gospel seen through the ‘60s of “Full Fathom 5 (Ariel’s Song).”

It all sounds completely detached and completely familiar, underlined by the fact that LeCroy has the uncanny ability to place any classical poetry she puts her hands on into the context of these modern tumultuous times. What should be an avant-garde, bizarre collection that should gather dust on a shelf actually turns into an intriguing, enjoyable, think piece, that can make you even dance the waltz to “The Way They Wanted”.

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