Author: Aleš Podbrežnik
Artist: I.C.E.
Label: Dallas Records
Release date: 20.03.2015
Rating: 3/5
I.C.E: is a band and a brand that’s trying to storm its way toward commercial success by any means necessary. Seven whole years have passed since the debut studio album »Na liniji«, and in the meantime the band has gone through numerous lineup changes and, above all, a maturing phase.
The album »Tu je raj« brings 12 new original songs, and its basic premise remains the pursuit of a trivial kind of melodiousness that you’ve figured out in an instant. On the first listen. Everything is backed by rhythms that call for dance steps. The guitar sounds rock-ish, but what I.C.E. serve up genre-wise you could call “light rock” or “slightly trashy pop” at best.
You can’t expect a musical revolution from I.C.E. The new album also feels tried-and-tested, predictable, already heard and familiar. No point wasting words on that. But the compositions hold up just fine. Production-wise too. The songs are brimming with optimism, as the album title »Tu je raj« already hints. It’s a general call to party and suggests that the band members are scooping up life by the full ladle and that, for them, the everyday hassles life throws your way can be solved in a heartbeat.
The songs are short, tight, easygoing. Woven from relaxed yet clearly measured compositional moves and structures. Overcomplicating things is strictly forbidden here. The songs get to the point fast – verse plus chorus, twice over, followed by an ultra-simplified »mid-eight« and one more round of the chorus. Still, I.C.E. know how to bring some rock bite too, as the song Stara gara shows. In any case, in this whole »instrumentally polished« story, Renata’s vocals stand out, noticeably more mature than on the debut.
What “Na liniji” started years ago, »Tu je raj« continues. A push toward the part of the audience that isn’t musically spoiled. The majority of the public. And the commercial success that follows. Still, the competition in the genre is pretty fierce, so going forward they’ll need to find something all their own, something instantly recognizable, unique, yet at the same time thrilling and fun. »Tu je raj« is far from a bad album, if we set aside the extreme predictability, where you can call in advance which note follows the last one. But that’s simply the price you pay if you want to make it in Slovenia and anchor yourself in the Slovenian »mainstream«.
Lineup
Renata Mohorič -vocals
Matej Sušnik- guitar
Tine Janžek – guitar
Blaž Sotošek- drums
Jalen Štremfelj- bass guitar
Production
I.C.E.
Tracklist
1. Spomni se
2. Vse mogoče
3. Cukr pop
4. Na vrh sveta
5. Stara gara
6. V življenju vse
7. Skupaj sama
8. Tu je raj
9. V barvah smisel je
10. Tja do srca
11. Moram čutit
