New song from Roco, produced by Gareth Young.

Now You're Ready (by Roco - 2011)

2011 reworking, produced by Gareth Young.

In Their Heads (by Roco - 2011)

Cold Sun

The icicles didn’t just form by chance. The band members responded to a powerful “call to action”. You know, like in an info-mercial…the part that makes you get off the couch, pick up the phone, and change your life. Their “call to action” was brought on by a series of hometown pop shows which traveled through Grand Rapids, Michigan. If you know anything about G.R. then you know, pop shows are a rarity for this town. You also know that if you like pop music, The Aislers Set and the Salteens are enough to get you off the couch and to the phone. After these shows it was clear, starting a band was the thing to do. It would not be just any band though, Alterna-rawk and punk rock stepped back to reveal a genre considered completely outrageous in Grand rapids – Indie-pop!

And so, with their matching outfits and name-embroidered jean jackets, the icicles stood out from day one. At their first show, in early 2001, another “call to action” was issued and quickly answered. Drive-In Records heard the icicles and immediately put them on the bill of almost every pop show in the area for the rest of the year. The icicles have played with The Lucksmiths, the Salteens, Ladybug Transistor, Jen Turrell, and Boyracer, not to mention a handsome variety of local bands at many local venues.

The Sound

As for sound, the icicles neatly combine both old and new. They have a lot in common with 50′s and 60′s girl pop, but also more recent bands like Cub, the Cat’s Miaow, Heavenly, the aforementioned Aisler’s Set and Salteens. The girl vox, guitar, bass and drums are complimented with a keyboard (Farfisa of course), glockenspiel, trumpet, hand claps, and boy-girl backing vocals.

The Disc

Fast-forward to Fall 2001 and the compact disc you have in your hands. From the start, it was important to the icicles to record with someone who knew how to Pop! and not Rawk. Dave Trumfio(Ashtray Boy, the Pulsars) was the man for the job. While the icicles chose him primarily for his work on the spectacular Holiday recordings he is better known for his work on Billy Bragg & Wilco’s Mermaid Avenue Discs. Any way you slice it, he was the man for the job and with that he was flown in from L.A. to begin sessions at King Size Sound Laboratories in Chicago.

02 Polyester Dress

une sorte de panique voluptueuse

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JANUARY 2021 Listen Local Show

Dreamy, reverb-drenched, melancholy indie pop

02 Polyester Dress

theicicles

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