C O V E R		R E V I E W
		Analog keyboards are all the rage at the moment, but when you combine them with upright bass you get something a bit off the beaten track. Add a dash (okay, more than a dash) of DJ artistry-cum-technical jiggery-pokery and you've got an arresting combination. ICU (it's not an abbreviation -- you say it ee-koo, I think) succeed by taking a minimalist approach to unlikely pairings -- looped beats and theremin, found-vocals and a frenetic bass riff on "Yopparai (a drunkard who fell from heaven)" being only one of the more immediate examples. A plodding breakbeat, low-bass melody and slurred vinyl recordings help to create the snail's pace ambience of "Temptation", while "Whistle" has a cool William Orbit-y feel to it thanks to the interaction of bell-clear keyboard and muted bass. Drum 'n' bass gets a tolerable rehashing on the pleasingly Eastern "Aluet", while on "done the twist..." the drums don't skitter, they clatter. If there's a band member who makes ICU click, it's Aaron Hartman and his upright bass; while keyboardist Michiko Swiggs and DJ/effects guy K.O. have relatively free reign to tinker in the mix, Hartman creates the anchoring rhythms that give these songs their distinctive sound. The result: even the most repetitive rhythms sound more spontaneous... more organic. It's a curiously comforting phenomenon.
	I N F O
icu chotto matte a moment K CD
		Review by George Zahora

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