ICON FOR HIRE Album Review

Icon For Hire – Scripted

Tooth & Nail, August 2011

7/10

This type of technology-heavy pop rock/metal normally has no appeal to me, but I gotta hand it to Icon For Hire for crafting a well-written album that’s easy to listen to. Their upcoming show at Station 4 is their third performance here in just the last couple of months so I was curious about what the band has to offer. Icon For Hire is a female-fronted band from Decatur, Illinois that has previously released two EPs independently, and Scripted is their debut album for venerable Christian label Tooth & Nail. Scripted is a highly-polished, slick album that takes hard rock into pop territory that’s going to have massive appeal to radio. Opener “Theater” sets the tone for the album well, and leads into the excellent single “Make A Move”. On the strength of fantastic melodies, other songs like “Off With Her Head” and “Up In Flames” hold your attention and bring you to the last part of the album before you know it. The power ballad “Only A Memory” would be a clear winner as a single, and has the potential to give Icon For Hire major pop crossover success. “Pieces” ends the album on another high note with a memorable chorus and some nice guitar work. Understand that Icon For Hire won’t find a big fanbase among most metal fans but there’s a lot for those who don’t mind listening to pop-based hard rock to get excited about. I wouldn’t be surprised to see scores of 8–10 from fans of this style and it’s hard to deny that the band has some seriously talented song writing skills.

Icon For Hire performs on Wednesday, November 16 at Station 4 in St. Paul with support from For Those Who Bleed and Rob Mahlum.