Icarus Himself: "Girl>Boy"

The perfect tonic for those on a combat high from Red Dead Redemption, Icarus Himself’s new EP Mexico gives you everything the Old West couldn’t: comfort, reliable weaponry, and a guaranteed payout in nuggets. Then with its other hand it delivers electronics, baritone guitars and some lines about overweight babysitters—double kill! Still, this is all to be expected when a one-man-band recruits crazies to horse up and ride with him. Since releasing Coffins last year, Nick Whetro has gone from solitary guitar adventures to a trio made of Karl Christenson on loops/keyboard and drummer Brad Kolberg, both of whom conspire to lead Icarus into the plastic age. And, believe me, plastics sound good when moulded correctly, especially when Whetro’s hallucinatory caterwauling is allowed to be twisted with old Depeche Mode sounds. In fact, the only people who should be complaining are Depeche Mode themselves, who—ironically—are probably too old to notice. Either that or too busy touring the world and biding their time for the knighthood.

“Girl>Boy” is Mexico‘s centerpiece, though not just because it contains the most crossover potential: the bass line shadows the Jesus & Mary Chain until it’s funked by a fat Casio beat, the result producing tropical delights. No, it’s also Whetro’s own wailed delivery that reaches its peak here, shining as he masters his custom half-howl while standing four foot back from the microphone. “I know what you’re thinking / They only want what’s between your legs / I lost myself today,” he screeches in his best Jarvis Cocker, implying the things between his legs that everyone wants have long been painfully disconnected. In terms of bodyshock horror that’s all that links “Girl>Boy” to its Aphex Twin namesake, but that shouldn’t taint your enjoyment of the hip-swinging hula vibe and and cut short four minutes of fun with Icarus Himself. They’ve made a tongue-in-cheek, hands-down-your-trousers ode to virginity that balloons after three minutes and fades. Now that’s what I call staying power.