Ichabod-Dreamscapes from dead space

                                                           

Rootsucker
2012

Boston's Ichabod have been around since the late 90's and over the years built up a following to their brand psyche/sludge rock. Then vocalist Ken MacKay parted ways with the band. The remaining members brought in longtime friend John Fadden as the new voice for the band. Now that leads us onto their latest outing. "Dreamscapes from dead space" is a more progressive effort to some degree than this band has tackled before. They still have a strong love for Pink Floyd on tracks like and "Epiphany" plus the more modern sludge that drives "Looking glass" and "All your love". They show a somewhat diverse approach to a style that can be somewhat limited, but I like them best when they go all out on "Return of the hag" showing that they relax and just go with whatever sounds are handy and throw them in the mix. The problem here for me is that this last approach doesn't happen nearly enough on this album. They know textures and they are skilled musicians, but they tend to be holding back a lot more than they need to. "Hollow god" is a great example of them forgetting about a stiff format and just screaming and tearing the music apart. They just needed more songs like that to be really memorable. As it is there are enough wild ideas and intriguing sounds mixed with odd patterns to keep my interest, but I just wish they had taken a few more risks because they toughed on that yet never went all the way.