ICEAGE - For Love of Grace & The Hereafter

One of the great mysteries of today's post-punk scene is the failure to recognize, at least among fans of the genre, that Iceage are one of its cornerstone bands. Perhaps it's because their early records weren't the most immediate, or perhaps simply because they don't hail from Britain or the US. Now onto their sixth album, Elias Rønnenfelt and co. aren't losing any sleep over it, and keep folding new elements into their shifting, decadent post-punk recipe.

If the new element of the previous "Seek Shelter" (now five years old) was the baggy/Madchester sound - still present here too on this "For Love Of Grace & The Hereafter", in the pulsing, swaggering "Star" - this time the novelty comes in the form of madcap rockabilly flourishes and playful nods to alt-country.

After "Ember", an opening track burning with passion that, together with the expressionist cover art depicting a kiss, sets out the album's romantic themes, the xylophones and du-du-dus of "Match Head Girl" reveal fruitful doses of Violent Femmes and Weezer, while "The Weak" leans hard into psychobilly, especially in a delightful middle section driven by handclaps and out-of-tune flutes.

The Danes turn instead to Albion on "No Fear": they do so with a great bassline (in truth, Jakob Tvilling Pless's playing is terrific throughout), delicate acoustic guitar strumming, and a crooked yet anthemic chorus. Even though these are post-punk songs, Iceage's attention to detail is as astonishing as ever, and their choices simple yet effective, as with the keyboards on the unhinged "Holy Water" or the string arrangements that lend a sinister tone to the closing "True Blue".

As usual, Iceage won't be drawing huge crowds, but it's the audience that ultimately loses out, missing once again the work of a formidable, versatile, engrossing band that has nothing to envy in any of their Anglo-Irish counterparts... quite the opposite.

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03/06/2026