In an age where I could follow everyone of my state representatives on Twitter, it’s nice to find the occasional thing shrouded in some sort of mystery. ICECREAMMAN fits the bill – a non-decorated MySpace page boasting a few photos and one song. No website beyond that, nearly no info, not even many friends. It’s refreshing in the face of every single Japanese band, big-time or not, having a blog in addition to everything else.
The band’s one song “忘れ去られたよるのうた” also offers up a little bit of a conundrum. After a Thin Lizzy-lite intro, the fuzzy song introduces an acoustic guitar and…an accordion? Could these be…Balkan-gaze? It’s a nice mixing-up of things to hear such unorthodox instruments rub up against lo-fi production. ICECREAMMAN’s greatest asset comes courtesy of the lead singing. Whereas everything else about “忘れ去られたよるのうた” sounds relatively laid back, the vocals sound like a guy howling his guts out at karaoke. It’s far from polished crooning, but that wild streak pays off for the group. Now if only I knew the name of the guy capable of cutting lose like that.