Emperor of Ice Cream: No Sound Ever Dies review – enjoyable nostalgia trip

The phrase "better late than never" has never rung more true than in the case of this Cork indie band. Formed in 1992, the four-piece were set to follow in the footsteps of their Leeside contemporaries The Frank and Walters and Sultans of Ping by releasing their London-recorded debut album in 1995.

Instead, they never made it past the “demo” stage for what they enigmatically call “unfathomable” reasons, and they were consigned to also-ran status. Twenty-five years later, those songs are finally getting their moment. Although their sound is undeniably of a certain musical era, for the most part this is an enjoyable nostalgia trip rather than a dated vanity project.

The easygoing, jangly 1990s indie flutter of William and Sunflower, occasionally supplemented by grungey basslines and fuzzy guitar solos, hit the spot; elsewhere, influences like The Charlatans (Know Me) and particularly The Stone Roses (Lambent Eyes) are impossible to shirk.

There’s plenty of carefree summer indiepop songs here and plenty of warmth woven into the tracklist, but the subsequent lack of snarl or bite to some songs leaves a lingering taste of unfinished business.

Luckily the enjoyable clamour of closing track Grow As You Are remedies that issue – and perhaps even plants roots for where the band could go next, if they so wish.

[ Emperoroficecream.bandcamp.com ]