Artist: I.C.E.
Label: Dallas Records
Release: 2008
Rating: 2.5/5
Slovenians, watch out! A new pop/rock band with a cute female vocalist is heading for the scene. Where have I seen that before? Oh, right. In more than one place. Billysi, for example, or Lunapark. And much like Billysi (I’ll make an exception for Lunapark, since they’ve got a bit more energy and punch), this new lineup called I.C.E. makes downright soul-crushing music. I’m sure someone would jump right in to shoot down what I just said. How can music that’s so melodic be a drag? Easily. A band can have the bounciest melodies imaginable, but if they’re built on set formulas that have gotten so predictable and boring over the years, it’s not hard at all. Some bands would simply rather let pop culture and the demands of the media and the audience steer them than make something that leaves their own mark.
Technically, there’s nothing missing from I.C.E.’s music. The album is very well produced and polished, as befits such good little boys and a girl. Na liniji is played very competently, and I’ve got no complaints on that front. Like I said, the trouble starts with the songs themselves. I.C.E. are surely capable musicians, but with their dance rhythms, perfect for shopping malls and elevators, they’re dumbing down masses of people who blindly follow trends. The singer’s lyrics do their part in the dumbing down too, and they’re downright terrible (and not in the good way). They’re full of silly slang that will surely appeal to the most popular teens, and the themes are so shallow and empty that I don’t even plan to get into individual songs.
Apparently I’m badly mistaken in my assessment of this band’s music, since some of the big names of the Slovenian scene see a lot of potential in them. They’ve been taken under the wing of the by now well-known music manager Aleš Uranjek, who is also the drummer in our friends Šank Rock. So some people are predicting a big future for this band (at least on the Slovenian music scene). Maybe I’m in the minority, but a future that glorifies bands like this, with no soul and no vision, worries me.
Much like Billysi (and maybe the odd Lunapark), I.C.E. don’t exactly offer any great entertainment. They’re painfully average and have no musical vision of their own. It feels like the music doesn’t come from within them, but is part of some predetermined guidelines and trends. In Slovenia right now, the trend is obviously to form bands like I.C.E., who somehow try to fill the gap between pop and syrupy rock. Hordes of teenagers will surely rush to the gigs of bands like this, who serve them sugar-coated instant music and instant gratification on the dance floor. But I think that if every listener with even a bit of self-respect and love for music takes at least a few minutes to look a little more closely at the music of bands like I.C.E. and, say, Billysi, they’ll find that it has neither depth nor authenticity. Very empty. To wrap up, let me tie this back to their name. It’s the only fitting thing about them, because they left me completely cold.
Lineup
Renata Mohorič – vocals
Matej Sušnik – guitar
Tine Janžek – guitar
Jalen Štremfelj – bass
Luka Čadež – drums
Production
I.C.E., Franci Zabukovec
Tracklist
1. Živim brez navodil
2. Dej zaplešiva
3. Skozi oblake
4. Na liniji
5. Mogoče se ji splača
6. Sanjaj
7. Brez slabe vesti
8. Pojdi v stilu
9. Ta song je le zate
10. Ko me zanese
11. Kje si zdaj
12. Šah mat
