Icarus Phoenix: I Should Have Known the Things You Never Said (Deluxe Edition)

When Drew Danburry shared his hurt about his divorce on the Icarus Phoenix album I Should Have Known the Things You Never Said last year, it was a pretty intense journey. Those ten songs, including the Mother Lights cover In The Blood, were only the tip of the iceberg. In a flurry of creativity the band recorded 40 (!) songs in three days, with producer Jed Jones as a true ally to keep the the momentum going. The subsequent single releases culled from those sessions were proof that maybe that way too many darlings were killed when assembling the original, so Danburry did a 180° and decided to release 37 songs in all for an expanded deluxe edition, using the order in which they were recorded.

Heartbreak is a source for mixed emotions: hurt, anger, grief, and even relief. The latter comes to the fore in the upbeat Solitude. Drewbury keeps his lyrics pretty straightforward mostly, honouring the folk adage that simple words can tell a great story, but he is not afraid to go the opposite route by comparing the break-up as a conflict between Tachykinin vs. Habenula, which will have most listeners reaching for a medical handbook. Self-deprecating humour is also part of the equation, with Poor Sad Indie Everything, Not Misunderstanding Litotes, and the stop-start approach for Live. Give. Lose. Grow., with the music taking short pauses as well, a highlight from the original album.

It is a gamble these days to release a double album, a cornucopia that requires -and deserves - an undivided attentive span. The rewards for subjecting oneself to such a task are plentiful. Icarus Phoenix is a band that can play both soft and loud, on this "all killer, no filler" release. One question remains: what was with the three songs that they were deemed not to be worthy for inclusion?

Icarus Phoenix:
Andrew Young: drums, percussion and additional vocals on "The Sword and Harp"
Jake Bellows: guitar, additional vocals on "The Sword and Harp"
Justin Pacheco: bass
Drew Danburry: the other stuff
Guest musicians:
Rocky Cordray: vocals & toys on "Painting"
Chaz Prymek: extra sounds on "Kanashimi (哀しみ)"
Kevin Nelson: viola on "Doctor! Doctor!"
Alea Nelson: cello on "Doctor! Doctor!"
Corbin Robinson: wind chime on "Kanashimi (哀しみ)" and additional vocals on "The Sword and Harp"

I Should Have Known the Things You Never Said (Deluxe Edition) is a self-released album (limited 2CD - 50 copies, digital). Buy it from their website. Release date: August 15.

Tracks:

1. The Things You Never Told Me
2. Enemy
3. High Tide
4. Son (feat. Neva Dinova)
5. Different Languages
6. Hatillo 2
7. In The Blood (Mother Lights Cover)
8. When Cooper Briscoe Did Karate
9. Feel
10. When it's time to go (I don't know if it is)
11. Doctor! Doctor!
12. Kanashimi (哀しみ) feat. Lake Mary
13. Live. Give. Lose. Grow.
14. Old Sleep Singer
15. Necessary/Painful
16. Homeostasis
17. Solitude
18. Pedantic Myopia
19. Shallow Water
20. Painting feat. Teleprom
21. Agradecido
22. Call Me
23. Poor Sad Indie Everything
24. Caroline
25. The World That We Live In
26. Love
27. Bright Eyes
28. If I'm Being Honest
29. Jump Like This and Hop Over
30. Mark and Kyle
31. Stories We Tell
32. Tachykinin vs. Habenula
33. See or Care
34. I told her “hold tight, I'm coming to heat the rain”
35. Not Misunderstanding Litotes
36. Nostalgia for Arannis Morissette, the Half-Elf Bard
37. The Sword and Harp feat. Neva Dinova

» Icarus Phoenix on Instagram

HCTF review of I Should Have Known the Things You Never Said