Iceage – “Take It All”
Iceage’s last album, Plowing Into The Field Of Love, came out way back in September of 2014. But the long wait for their next release is finally drawing to a close. The Danish group has been gearing up for the May release of their new collection Beyondless since last month, first previewing it via lead single “Catch It” and then sharing the Sky Ferreira-assisted “Pain Killer.” (Both songs were amongst our favorites in their respective weeks.) Now they’re back with another new one called “Take It All.”
Pretty much all of the tracks on Beyondless are awesome in their own way, but “Take It All” is one of the best. It’s an enigmatic piece, with an atmosphere that unfolds gradually and changes within a single moment, managing to come across as haunting, angered, and a darkly pretty reverie simultaneously.
That is thanks, in large part, to the instrumentation of the song. A martial drumbeat, guitar lines that flicker like distant fires on a horizon, a well-placed tambourine for propulsion, and Nils Gröndahl’s shape-shifting violin accompaniment leading the way — all of it comes together into that otherworldly power that Iceage has been wielding in this new material. But, of course, the key factor remains the brooding charisma of frontman Elias Bender Rønnenfelt. His strung-out drawl makes the whole thing feel particularly akin to a Nick Cave-esque incantation, a lineage Rønnenfelt is becoming increasingly adept at exploring. Check it out below.
As a part of the lead up to Beyondless, Iceage are doing a series of “Opening Night” residencies in Brooklyn, LA, Kyoto, and Tokyo. The small shows will also feature visual art from some of the band’s favorite artists, inspired by open-ended prompts related to Beyondless:
03/22 – Brooklyn, NY @ Kinfolk 90
03/23 – Brooklyn, NY @ Kinfolk 94
03/24 – Brooklyn, NY @ Babycastles
03/25 – Brooklyn, NY @ Secret Project Robot
03/29 – Los Angeles, CA @ Gold Diggers Bar
03/30 – Los Angeles, CA @ Gold Diggers Bar
03/31 – Los Angeles, CA @ Gold Diggers Bar
04/03 – Kyoto, JP @ Metro
04/06 – Tokyo, JP @ Duo
04/08 – Tokyo, JP @ Vacant
In addition to the Opening Nights residencies and their extensive, previously announced North American tour, Iceage have also announced a ton of European dates:
07/12 – Lake Bank, HU @ Bankito Festival
08/30 – Gdansk, PL @ Sounddrive Festival
08/31 – Hamburg, DE @ Off The Radar Festival
09/03 – Birmingham, UK @ Hare And Hounds
09/04 – Leeds, UK @ Brudenell Social Club
09/06 – Glasgow, UK @ The Great Eastern
09/07 – Dublin, IE @ Workmans Club
09/08 – Cardiff, UK @ Clwb iFor Bach
09/09 – Manchester, UK @ Gorilla
09/10 – Brighton, UK @ The Haunt
09/11 – Rotterdamn, NL @ Rotown
09/12 – Cologne, DE @ Blue Shell
09/13 – Heidelberg, DE @ Karlstorbahnhof
09/14 – Leffinge, BE @ Leffingeleuren Festival
09/15 – Berlin, DE @ Bi Nuu
09/20 – Århus, DK @ Tape
09/21 – Ålborg, DK @ Studenterhuset
09/24 – Helsinki, FI @ Tavastia
09/25 – Oslo, NO @ John Dee
09/26 – Stockholm, SE @ Debaser
09/27 – Göteborg, SE @ Pustervik
09/28 – Odense, DK @ Kansas City
10/26 – Porto, PT @ Hard Club
10/27 – Lisbon, PT @ Jameson Urban Routes Festival
10/28 – Sevilla, ES @ Sala X
10/29 – Madrid, ES @ El Sol
10/30 – Barcelona, ES @ Le [2]
11/03 – Zurich, CH @ Rote Fabrik
Beyondless is out 5/4 on Matador. Pre-order it here.