The Icarus Line… didn’t know these guys were still alive and kicking to be honest. This band around frontman Joe Cardamone was considered the next big thing in the early naughties but unfortunately for them the big breakthrough never knocked on their door. Fortunately for us they never threw in the towel and lash out once more with “Slave Vows”, the band’s sixth album.

The 11-minute opener that is “Dark Circles” might already give you an inkling as to why that breakthrough never came through. Combine this piece of badass 60s psychedelia with mind-altering substances and you’ll know what a real anxiety attack feels like. “Marathon Man” is another slow-burning song  that along with “No Money Music” would make Jesus & Mary Chain proud.

This is not a catchy album. It does not come with choruses that you can sing along to. This is what the bastard child of despair and rage sounds like. It’s as primitive as it is raw and it is really good. If you don’t like it, fuck you!