This past February Iceage dropped a new single called “Catch It,” their first offering since 2014’s Plowing Into The Field of Love. Today, the band returned with a brand new track called “Pain Killer,” as well as news of their upcoming fourth LP Beyondless, out May 4th via Matador/Escho. The band finds vocalist/lyricist Elias Bender Rønnenfelt once again joined by guitarist Johan Wieth, bassist Jakob Tvilling Pless, and drummer Dan Kjær Nielsen. Produced by the band with assistance from Nis Bysted, who also worked with Rønnenfelt on his Marching Church 7″ Christmas on Earth, as well as Iceage’s …Field of Love, the upcoming album was recorded in an all analog set-up by Mattias Glavå at Kungsten Studios in Göteborg, Sweden. In addition, Beyondless was mixed by Seattle’s very own Randall Dunn at Avast Studios.
Matador reports that the upcoming Iceage album also finds the band joined by violinist Nils Gröndhal, trumpeter Kasper Tranberg, saxophonist Lars Greve, trombonist Morten Jessen, as well as the US-based vocalist Sky Ferreira–who can also be heard on the group’s new cut “Pain Killer.” Supercharged by the backing horn section, this new track has a real throwback vibe to it. While early efforts from the band found them creating a chaotic, post-punk sound that often felt on the verge of completely falling apart, “Pain Killer” retains some of that shambolic aspect–even with the more “musical” addition of horns and backing vocals. “Catch It” put Rønnenfelt’s poetic lyrics and tipsy drawl front and center, but this new effort shows off a band that can somehow be tight and loose all at the same time. Don’t get me wrong, the singer’s penchant for poetry still shines throughout and finds him groveling at his lover’s feet, even as he utters lines like, “Anesthetic liaison/Honey honey you’re my medication.” But ultimately, “Pain Killer”‘s rollicking guitar and horn-driven energy shows off Iceage–the band.
