Icon For Hire - "Scripted"

Icon For Hire - Scripted
2011, Tooth & Nail

1. Overture
2. Theater
3. Make a Move
4. Get Well
5. The Grey
6. Off With Her Head
7. Fight
8. Up In Flames
9. Iodine
10. Only a Memory
11. Pieces

Icon's debut, Scripted, lacks some of the pop, hip-hop, and electronic flavor of their self-titled album, but it's still a great debut. It manages to set itself apart from the Fireflights and the Letter Blacks of the world. The hooks are strong and the lyrics are insightful and clever (for example: "Crazy's I believe the medical term/ When we want to recover/ But we don't want to learn..." from "Iodine"). I will admit that it does sound slightly more generic than their self-titled but I think that's to be expected as the band is still refining their sound. However, their heart and attitude shine through - especially on tracks like "Make a Move" and "Off With Her Head." I would almost compare them to Christian metal legends, Bloodgood, in terms of having that special type of passion that just breaks out of the music. Having listened to both albums time and time again I can say that this is a band I will be keeping an eye on.

Useless Fact: Lead vocalist, Ariel, makes and sells her own clothes on Etsy.

Icon For Hire - "Icon For Hire"

Icon For Hire - Icon For Hire
2013, Tooth and Nail

1. Cynics & Critics
2. Nerves
3. Sugar & Spice
4. Hope of Morning
5. Sorry About Your Parents
6. Pop Culture
7. Watch Me
8. Slow Down
9. Rock and Roll Thugs
10. Think I'm Sick
11. Fix Me
12. Counting On Hearts

Here's a conversation that transpired about Icon For Hire:

          Me: "Hey, I found this new band you might like. They're called Icon For Hire, they're pretty cool."
          Wife: "Yeah, I know. They've been on my YouTube feed for months."
          Me: "Oh. Well... I guess even a broken clock is right twice a day."
          Wife: "You're a turd."

So what does Icon sound like? Well, take some Paramore and make them heavier. Then throw in some electronica, maybe a little dubstep. Then add, because why not, some white girl rap. Mix it all together and you've got Icon For Hire. Their music is accessible, but heavy, catchy but not obnoxious. Vocalist Ariel may not have quite the range of your Hayley Williamses, but she makes up for it in pure attitude and heart. You can really tell that the band has put their all into this record. Something I think is rare these days. Even the "white girl rap" parts (like in "Sugar & Spice" and "Think I'm Sick") totally work. I would also like to point out that there is no filler here either. All the songs are really good and the album is best listened to as a whole. Icon For Hire has risen to the status of "family's favorite band" as of this writing. And if you don't think a four year old singing the lyrics to "Sugar & Spice" is not the cutest thing ever, then you have no soul. I guess kids these days really can make good music!

Useless Fact: One of the band members has a huge mohawk. When I see it I laugh and laugh and think back to the days when I thought Joey Daub's (of Believer) half-shaved-mohawk-thing was just the coolest thing ever.