Ikara Colt scores props from the Boston Phoenix

Courtesy of href='http://bostonphoenix.com/boston/music/otr/documents/02633148.htm'>The Boston Phoenix
English punk bands have always taken a slightly different approach to rebel rock from that of their stateside counterparts. Reaching all the way back to the first British punk explosion of the late '70s, when the Clash, Gang of Four, and Wire merged aggressive music with the considered feel of high art and the urgency of leftist politics, England has had a tradition of what might be called progressive or art-school punk --- a tradition that Ikara Colt enthusiastically take up on their debut album. The co-ed London foursome work with familiar ingredients here: furious, treble-heavy guitars, impatient drums, sassy boy-girl vocals, a minimal bass throb. At times they suggest what the short-lived British riot grrrl group Huggy Bear might have become if they'd endured a little longer. Yet Ikara Colt have the restless and infectious energy of a rebel-rock outfit who just discovered punk yesterday. "Sink Venice" and "Pop Group" spew amplifier fuzz and youthful dissatisfaction so convincingly that they sound like a revelation instead of just more pop-punk boilerplate in an era that's been crowded with it.

By Mikael Woods Less