Icon For Hire... Expires

You know when milk goes bad. When you buy it from the store and bring it home, it is cold, rich, smooth and tasty. It goes great with cereal and smoothies and it tastes great. But, that moment when you pop the lid and take a whiff you know it has gone bad. There is no question, its sour and done.

That is how I feel about Icon for Hire. They have expired

I understand and can except that all of these people in bands, Christian or not, are usually creative people that are just a little off kilter. You have to be. If you are going to step on stage and perform music that often times is about the raw emotions of your life, you have to be a little off. (it is more prevalent than you might think - Brian Wilson, Whitney Houston, Micheal Jackson, Syd Barret, Kurt Cobain, need I say more?)

Icon for Hire started off as a brilliant new sound. A complex interweave of heavy rock ballads, catchy quips and driven music, and touching, thought provoking theme songs. There was much to like and feel. They were truly a new sound with amazing musical talent that could easily swim through a constant ocean of original music.

And they were signed to a Christian Label, Tooth and Nail. Which, to me, meant something.

Here are some songs that epitomize their music. Then I will tell you why they expired for me.

The concepts that Icon for Hire tackled were never easy. In fact, I think they went out of the way to develop music that brought out things a lot of us would rather not explore.

Ariel is a great lyricist. If you have never studies lyrics, you may not understand the breadth of her work. Honestly, I only now a few that are as talented as her. She is in the same level as Neil Pert, Niel Young, and Paul Simon.

A song who's message is touching and seemingly coming from a higher power.

"In your deepest pain, in your weakness hour, in your darkest night,

you are lovely."

For two full albums, their music resonated with fans, including me and my daughter. Some songs seem to include deep messages of hope and redemption after incredibly personal and dark moments. For those of us who got it, it was a great ride and experience.

And then things changed. Long story short, they got into fights with the label apparently about the new direction they wanted to go with their music.They left the label. More power to them. It is not for me to judge. But, "so we can be true to ourselves," became what seems to be a 90 degree departure from from their previous direction

For me, they had expired.

One day a new song appeared, "So Now You Know." It didn't take long for me to realize that the milk had gone bad. I never had to worry about lyrics before. I never had to worry about the message it was sending my daughter. Now I do. Some fans love it. Some fans don't. They have since followed up with two more songs. two more I will never buy. Now they are trying to crowd fund their next album. She wants to "fight" against those she let "have their way." I guess, good luck.

So what do I do now? The first two albums are part of my vocabulary. I still hear my daughter singing their songs. Crap, I still sing their songs. I still love their songs. But, if I endorse them to people, and they first seek out their latest, instead of their first, what happens.

I guess, all I can say is listen at your own risk.

#IconforHire #ExpiredBands