Kid Icarus – Imaginary Songs & Aluminum Hits

Yo! I have something slightly different for you guys today. I didn’t have to use that ‘lo-fi’ tag yet again for this post, which was definitely a great change of pace. So much coming out these days has that gritty lo-fi production, so it’s kind of nice to hear music like this for a change. I’m not gonna lie – I kind of forgot this stuff existed! Obviously joking, but this album is certainly a refreshing burst of music with a fuller sound and with overall better production. You get rich and warm layered recordings – definitely a quality that is lost with all of this upcoming ‘lo-fi’ stuff we’re always seeing. So let’s get on with it.

KID ICARUS is a band based out of Dunmore, Pennsylvania, and believe it or not, these guys have been around for longer than you might think. Eric Schlittler is the lead man, and it’s been this way since the bands inception way back in 1996. These guys have got at least seven different full length albums, including this one we’re talking about today. “Imaginary Songs & Aluminum Hits” would be the most recent, which is actually the first LP to come from Kid Icarus in over five years. It has a little bit of everything you’d want to hear, with the basis being mostly guitar-driven indie rock. On top of that, the band manages to work in their own unique blend of psychedelia, alongside an equal amount of a twangy folky flair. A few of these tracks have a good amount of heart ache weaved into the mix, as there is definitely a longing feeling in a few of these songs like “Encased” and “A Good Place to End”. Other times it seems like Schlittler is singing about what is happening right in front of him, almost like he’s giving us a play-by-play of exactly what his own two eyes perceive. It helps paint a nice picture as you listen to the songs, and it’ll definitely help you pay attention to the music, because you’ll be wondering what happens next.

Then there’s other songs on the album that were put down just to rock out. Songs like “Dig Architecture”, “Disappearing Act”, “Projection Loop” or “Figure A”, which features a metallic, screaming guitar that may or may not catch you off guard upon first listen. These are the songs that help you forget about the sad times. Then along comes a song like “Who’s Blues”, which kind of sits out of the loop with the rest of the songs in this. It’s like a quick trip to outer-space to record a song real quick and then come back down to Earth to finish the rest of the album. Shortly after this starts the pounding rhythm on “In My Windowed Life”.

These final three songs on the album play into each other almost perfectly, making quite a nice ending to this album. “In My Windowed Life” acts like an intro to the song “Victory Smokes, Victory Gin”, which is another song on it’s own on this album. It has an extremely heavy feel to it, almost like Schlittler has some burdens to unload before it’s all said and done. Heavenly guitars and lyrics about police intrusion make for an interesting story. Then comes “PA Year Zero”, which starts up with some delightful acoustic guitar. This song will definitely put a smile on your face if you’ve been having some hard times lately. Check out the songs I’m leaving for you guys below, because I think yr gonna like them. Whatever you do, don’t forget to listen to “Disappearing Act”. It rocks.

Dig Architecture –

Disappearing Act –

In My Windowed Life –

PA Year Zero –

My Rating: 8/10
Genre/ Tags: Indie Rock, Folk Rock, Psychedelic, Pop
Imaginary Songs & Aluminum Hits: Tracklist:
1.) Dig Architecture
2.) A Good Place to End
3.) Disappearing Act
4.) My Mother the Car
5.) Figure A
6.) Encased
7.) Projection Loop
8.) Who’s Blues
9.) In My Windowed Life
10.) Victory Smokes, Victory Gin
11.) PA Year Zero

Kid Icarus – Official Website
Kid Icarus on Myspace
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