Anyone who thought Iceage majorly wussed out with 2014’s country-flecked third album ‘Plowing Into The Field Of Love’, look away now. ‘This World Is Not Enough’, Elias Bender Rønnenfelt’s solo debut, sees the unsmiling frontman stray ever further from his hardcore roots, with help from members of fellow Danish bands Lower, Sexdrome and Choir Of Young Believers. Unspeakably pretentious and rarely less than riveting, it lurches from piano jazz (‘Every Child (Portrait of Wellman Braud)’) and Bowie-esque plastic soul (‘King of Song’) to demented early Bunnymen vibes (the electric ‘Hungry For Love’) – all delivered by a man who sounds like he’s trying to vomit up his soul. Freakier still is the lugubrious cover of soul staple ‘Dark End Of The Street’, which recalls Nick Cave’s romance with classic songwriting circa ‘Kicking Against The Pricks’. What next for our sweet Danish prince? A duet with Kylie?
Album Reviews
Marching Church – ‘This World is Not Enough’
The Iceage frontman leaves punk behind on his unspeakably pretentious but riveting solo debut
By Alex Denney|