Hey, kids, it\u2019s Daily Vault Story Time!<\/p>\n
Once upon a time, there was a princess who lived in the faraway land of Decatur, Illinois.[1]<\/sup><\/sup><\/a> This princess wanted to make music, so she found a talented knight whose vision fit with hers, and they formed a band called Icon For Hire. And it was good.<\/p>\n Eventually, however, the goblins came and offered them a record deal.[2]<\/sup><\/sup><\/a> They took it, of course, thinking that dealing with goblins might be worth getting widespread acclaim. Unfortunately, there was not as much acclaim as they wanted \u2013 and the goblins had ideas about their music that they were not comfortable with. So the princess and the knight did a very brave thing; they got rid of the goblins and decided they were going to adventure on their own.<\/p>\n However, before they parted ways with the goblins, they crafted a little album called Scripted<\/i>. And, frankly, the goblins missed the boat on this one.<\/p>\n Okay, enough story. While perhaps I\u2019m being a bit twee, this is the basic story of Ariel Bloomer and Shawn Jump, better known as Icon For Hire. They left the comfort of a record deal, and also refused to be considered just a \u201cChristian music act,\u201d despite what the marketing people wanted. While there are elements of spirituality in their work, Icon decided pretty early that they were broader than that.<\/p>\n Broader is a good term, given their musical styles. Ariel Bloomer is as likely to break into rap as sing. They successfully fuse styles as disparate as hard rock, hip-hop, rap, electronica, and straight balladeering in something that, despite attempts to cubbyhole them into either a \u201cchick band\u201d or a \u201cJesus band,\u201d is refreshingly different. Perhaps it\u2019s the raw candor that Bloomer achieves at times; she\u2019s straightforward about her battles with mental illness, sexism in the music industry[3]<\/a>, and doubt and faith.<\/p>\n Frankly, there isn\u2019t a bad track on Scripted<\/i>, and some of them achieve greatness: \u201cMake A Move\u201d with its driving plea, \u201cThe Grey\u201d with its meditations on faith and failing one\u2019s own spiritual path, and \u201cFight,\u201d which as far as I\u2019m concerned, if it doesn\u2019t pump you up, you\u2019re dead or something. My favorite, after much meditation, is the twin killing of \u201cOff With Her Head\u201d and \u201cUp In Flames;\u201d both speak to me about self-destruction and how to walk the thin line that staves it off.<\/p>\n Icon For Hire is pretty damn talented, and even if it was born from a studio somewhere in the Goblin City, Scripted<\/i> is an excellent album. Check it out. <\/p>\n