Lia Ices
Ices
Jagjaguwar
After displaying her mastery of mesmerizing dream-pop on 2011’s Grown Unknown, Lia Ices adds a shot of energy to the mix on this charming third album. Though recorded piecemeal at studios around the country, Ices feels focused and cohesive, with the leadoff track “Tell Me” setting the tempo, setting a typically lush melody to a thumping party beat. Ices is still happily indebted to Kate Bush—witness the meditative seven-minute “Waves”—but jaunty songs like “Higher” show she has the confidence to play around with her sound and not settle for ambient-music clichés. If this bracing newfound urgency indicates a willingness to court a larger audience a la Lykke Li, more power to her.
