Search - Black Watch :: Icing the Snow Queen

Yet again...

Christian Bonner | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania United States | 06/20/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"...The Black Watch delivers an unquestionably GREAT album. Having been a fan of this band for about 10 years now, and having written glowing reviews here on Amazon for all of their releases since 2001, I'm not saying anything here I haven't already. TBW is a great band; reference points would be Go-Betweens, House Of Love, My Bloody Valentine (albeit less so on this new album), some 60's pop, etc etc etc. But at this time, reference points are not important. TBW stands on their own, and "Icing The Snow Queen", while drawing inspiration from many sources, sounds like no one else than TBW. "Icing The Snow Queen", in fact, is their finest album since 2002's watershed "Jiggery-Pokery", IMHO. I'll say it six times: fans of unpretentious (yet somewhat cheeky at times), well-written pop songs that are lush and edgy at the same time NEED to get into the TBW immediately, if they are not already. This includes YOU.



You know, let me apologize if this "review" sounds pushy, but I'm feeling a bit infuriated. It's the fault of John Fredrick, leader/songwriter of The Black Watch. How does he write such deceptively simple, maybe even incongruous (upon first listen), pop songs that you swear you've heard many times before, and STILL make them sound fresh as a daisy? For example, the GORGEOUS "Apres Lisette" from this album. A beautiful, lilting melody; perfect arrangement; nothing complicated - immediately accessible and familiar, yet... it FEELS utterly unprecedented. Damn that Fredrick, he's been doing this for years, and this uncanny ability of his is what has kept me a Black Watch fan for so long. I don't know of any other artist/band - indie or otherwise - with the possible exception of Robert Pollard - who has this ability.



Maybe I'm not explaining this very well. Maybe you should just buy "Icing The Snow Queen" (order it directly from the band! go to their myspace page for info! am I allowed to say that here?). Then buy all of the other TBW releases. Then you'll understand what I'm trying to convey. The Black Watch is peerless."