Weeping Icon

Album review

Brooklyn noise punk quartet Weeping Icon lean heavily into the noise element of their sound, not just augmenting songs with the occasional untidy synth, but burying their hardcore blasts under thick layers of distortion. Their live shows often found the band playing nonstop, with passages of ambient electronics or harsh sonics linking together the more traditional songs, and both their 2017 EP Eyeball Under and their debut full-length re-create that approach. Of the seven songs, Weeping Icon's impenetrable noise coats the entire mix, obscuring sarcastic social commentary on "Be Anti" and wailing anger on album standout "Ripe for Consumption." The album pulsates with a caustic energy, slowing down for a scathing spoken word critique of systemic oppression on "Natural Selection," a song that churns with the uneasiness of an early Swans or Birthday Party track. At times, Weeping Icon bring to mind the best moments of short-lived noise punk act Perfect Pussy, as with the explosive chaos of "Ankles" or the buzzing, broken-sounding synths that lead into dizzying album-closer "Control." Far heavier and noisier, Weeping Icon's debut sounds nearly possessed at times. Harsh production and tightly controlled playing derailing into total noise reflect the band's burning socio-political disgust. Just as powerful and visible is the band's perspective of laughing at an ugly, decaying world. The balance between cathartic punk and misanthropic noise experiments reinforces Weeping Icon and makes for an intense but cleansing listening experience.
© Fred Thomas /TiVo