Following their debut
Pure Sugar EP,
The Icicles take their sweet pop a touch further on
A Hundred Patterns. This may be due to the fact that they recorded
A Hundred Patterns at Marlborough Farms with
Ladybug Transistor frontman
Gary Olson and
Bill Wells. The clean, wide production shines through, focusing the Icicles' '60s-influenced pop on their strengths -- guitars are wonderfully strummed against the smooth rhythms of drums and swinging bass, while keyboards enhance it all with melodic runs. The hooks of tracks like "I Wanna Know" and "Forever and a Day" call up the cute-core influences of
Cub and
Tuscadero.
The Icicles do not strictly follow their influences though, adding to what they have learned from them to shape a distinct sound of their own -- the sweet chorus of "Sunday Song" could definitely be put next to any radio hit and "Bat in the Kitchen" shares more in common with recent popsters, also Grand Rapid-ites,
the Sewing Terrorists.
A Hundred Patterns will definitely warm the heart and make you want more from the Icicles.