Ichabod : Let The Bad Times Roll

Ichabod originate from Lowell Massachusetts, best known to me as 'that depressing, scary place I won't be visiting again'.

Several reviews I've seen of this album pan it based on the allegedly terrible production by Steve Austin. The style is distinctive, and I do remember finding it somewhat off-putting at first. It's flattened and mid-range, and the vocals (layered in a way which I think is characteristic) and guitar sound like they are being played at the far end of a narrow concrete corridor, while the bass seems to fade in and out at times. It's not 'good' production in the sense of being very heavy, or clear, but it does work to create a sort of muted, distant atmosphere. The music is a psych/punk/stoner/ amalgam, tending towards long songs and repeated phrases, the vocals are mostly clean (and the singer has a decent voice) with occasional screams.

Beyond the usual instruments, there is a nice under-layer of odd keyboard sounds, hisses and gurgles; darkly aquatic stuff. The whole album manages to evoke a really bleak atmosphere while maintaining catchiness(sic) and occasionally reaching for the anthemic (sic); music for rainy days in run-down towns.
I didn't like this album all that much when I first heard it, but it grew on me with repeated listens, and I've continue to go back to it over the years (more so than their follow-up, Reaching Empyrean).

Let The Bad Times Roll