Icicle Works* – Icicle Works

Just found this at my local record store and knew in the back of my mind, "Icicle Works" has a pretty cool song and I am a big fan of 80s alternative/New Wave, so I picked it up. I was then very pleased to hear "Whisper to a Scream" right of the gate, what a GREAT song. This is one of those bands/releases that at their time were putting out amazing forward-looking music right alongside the starts of some of our MUCH more successful alternative bands in 83/84, The Cure, U2, REM, The Smiths, the list goes on an on. It just wasn't meant to be for these guys to get that big.....strange how that goes sometimes.

I have a different variant than those listed. Side A has A2F- a Side B has A4D. There is also a stamped sideways "1" opposite the cat number etch on both side.

And, mine did not come with a printed inner sleeve. Instead, I got a poly sleeve with one "ARISTA" printed on mid-upper right side of both sides. At least it's the medium weight poly that holds it's shape better while inserting back in the cover and not the super thin poly that gets wrinkled no matter how careful you are.

In the mid-eighties I was introduced to this band via this record and became instantly hooked. My first impressions were they were an extremely tight English new wave/alt rock band, with some great songwriting and drum-forward sound. I wore out my cassette tape and then found it on CD and was happy.

Last year, I bought a turntable and began building a vinyl collection from scratch. First on the list were this, The Church Starfish, and and XTC Skylarking. This one has been the hardest to locate but I finally just acquired a clean copy and it sounds amazing.

I'm impressed at how good this record sounds on vinyl. Given the indie nature of the band, I suspected I would be disappointed with a subpar vinyl pressing. Not so. Nice full response, super punchy drums, vocals are prominent, and plenty of sparkly top end to keep things interesting. Over the years, I've memorized every note and every word, so it was a real treat hearing this with fresh ears.

If you've never explored this band, take a chance. Of course, it's not everyone's taste, but there's some great talent to be found here. Unfortunately, they could not repeat the magic with subsequent albums, IMO, So this one stands out as the moment the stars aligned and Icicle Works produced a perfect record.

Recommended.

This album is a masterpiece. There are very few albums in the world where every single song is exceptional and this is one of them to be sure. Totally ignore the rating below 4 above, those people obviously haven't listened to this album the countless times that I have. This band is way underrated and this album is extremely underrated. It's a classic to say the least, so do yourself a favor and really listen to it before you give it a rating of anything under a 5 star. I have exceptional taste in music and it's just a crime to see people that don't appreciate a classic like this. I could go on and on about each individual song but why should I when they are all awesome, totally awesome!