Icarus the Owl - Qualia EP
Record Label: None
Release Date: February 1, 2011
Who?
Icarus the Owl are a Portland, OR four-piece enraptured by the wonders of finger-tapping. They like pop-punk, too, which makes it appropriate to describe their sound as something like Gatsby’s American Dream meets Minus the Bear – a potentially luscious combo.
How is it?
At four tracks, Qualia has noticeable ups and downs. The only real misfire is “Vagabond,” where the band’s seemingly compulsive need to finger-tap gets in the way of the chorus’ flow. To a much lesser degree, the same could be said for the rest of the EP: The omnipresent finger-tapping runs the risk of becoming obnoxious. But the instances where it’s used in good taste make it all worth it, like in “Mouse Trap,” where it builds a twinkling atmosphere, or in “Mythomaniac’s” mini breakdown, which is all kinds of majestic. The most exciting track is “She Taught Me Minesweeper,” a three-and-a-half minute exercise in pop-punk finesse that nails a particularly elusive quality in the genre today – memorability. Qualia is a fine reason to keep tabs on Icarus the Owl.
Too much math. Not enough core to be mathcore. Ends up sounding like it's trying to be pop but it's too confusing. Not impressed.
no shit there isn't any "core". go to their facebook and it says "POP PUNK" right there. great ghandi.
im all for pop punk and technicality, so the combination this band is trying to pull off amazes me. they just need to not overdue it. looking at their tabs, their time signatures run wilder than the mars volta's. 14/8 + 6/32? completely unnecessary.
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