Plowing Into the Field of Love

Plowing into the Field of Love is the third album from Copenhagen’s ICEAGE. It is new, bold and forceful. Channeling the rage and emotion of their tempestuous early releases into finely honed musicianship, Plowing Into The Field of Love features piano, mandolin, viola and organ atop Johan Suurballe-Wieth’s razor-sharp guitars and the lolloping, synchronized rhythm section of Jacob Tvilling Pless and Dan Kjær Nielsen. The record has a clear, uncompressed sound, and Elias Bender Rønnenfelt’s desperate vocals are out front, nakedly accountable for the words. At the other extreme, the album tends to a sort of euphoria, especially in the unexpectedly upbeat country number “The Lord’s Favorite,” and even humor. Yet desperation and loss lurks behind. This is an album about seeing, learning, and rejecting things, in a cycle that repeats and builds. The reference points are wildly varied - on a recent German radio show, the band played records by Abner Jay, Rowland S. Howard, Brian Eno, and Coil - but the sound is uniquely and darkly Iceage.