Lia Ices Necima. A hand cranked gadget for effects and a resonant piano, now strings and her voice. A whispering coo, kooky girl croon. A bit Emmy the Great only more desperate to appear odd, alternative, progressive. Medicine Wheel., Having someone declare you "odd" is the most magnificent thing ever. Everyone is brilliant or charming or "great" but so few are truly odd. I made someone a mix cd at work and she proclaimed to the rest of my coworkers that I was odd. So I am the "odd" one out so to speak, it is an enviable position to be in. When everyone else declares their devotion to John Mayer they can look at me and know I do not share similar sentiments. It is a load off of my mind, to be honest. Laboured breathing, this is not the pathway to odd. Studied composition and string arrangements and confident vodcalising isn't either. Lia Ices is actually only a few steps away from Norah Jones. Is it me or is Norah Jones not beautiful? I am not much for the music but she looks like a swell young lady. These strings sound smmoth. This song is a bit dull. Pitchfork has already reviewed this record. Some time ago. If it was a book this would be a Julian Barnes book. It is was a short story it wouldn't be a Stephen Millhauser short story. I miss Stephen Millhauser, I cried the day he died. Note: I don't think he died. This song is too long. This song is too dull. When you are dull and are not completely aware of it you should practice brevity as a rule until someoen can clearly state the reasons in some sort of manifesto as to why you are indeed dreadfully dull and boring. I don't subscribe to this rule here but in "real" life I am mute, mainly. I walk around with headphones in my ears looking for furniture that has the appearance of hand craftmanship from New England Amish tweakers but is actually made in Chinese Prison camps located near to a railroad. This album is similar. Second song. Thump thump on the drums, thrum thrum on the guitar, snooze. Will I make it through this album? Probably not. I am thinking of deleting it just now. I am going to search out a photo of Lia Icers. Is this her given name? It is sunny this morning. It is normally sunny most mornings. I like the keyboard squeezy electronic effects here, she should eliminate the rest of it, her voice, the guitar, the drums, etc...Half Life, in a poll of all of the songs named Half Lie in my Itunes library this would qualify second out of two. Tears in X-Ray Eyes has a much superior version. This is not a Tears in Xray Eyes cover. I have found a photo. The next song is playing. She is attractive, I suppose. Her being attractive makes sense. The attractive need not be interesting. See Nicole Kidman. Now it's bluesy and dreary. Not dreary in the bleak 'in the car at the side of the road' kind of beautiful end of the world is nye bleakness but grey, monotone, blah blah blah. I have so very few words contained in my head, I am spending precious many on this terrible record. Why is this? I could rewrite my review of Plastic Mastery and explain how it is the most exciting record ever made, which it is, but insterad I am made annoying by describing the myriad ways in which I do not enjoy this record. Her parents named her Lia Ices because it is the name of a breath mint in Sweden. Not really. It doesn't seem unthinkably obscure, however, Alessi's Ark is named after a fascist blender. But Alessi is a dream. I will defend Alessi to the death amongst all of the people who inexplicably name Talking Heads' Remains in Light as the greatest record of the 1980s. I am pretty certain that I have heard but one track from that album. Is it good? I don't like David Byrne, seems like he should be fathering children with Natalie Merchant or Jane Child actually. He wore big shoulder pads, he's a genius. All of these songs seem excruciatingly long. We are on to song 4, Healed, it is less thump thump blah blah, it is softer, more tender, just as insignificant and pointless. She probably has a buffet in her parent's house with all of the blue ribbons awarded for her creative spirit and good citizenship at eco school. Does the Pearlfishers' song Eco Schools ring throughout the halls of academia? It's an insidious plot that one, it is a gorgeous song and yet the lyrics are so banal and condescending and brought to bear from the man I love more than most. David, please stick to fish mongers and food. Please. Duglas Stewart wrote a comment on my previous website. I deleted the website soon after. I prefer anonymity. Someone, earlier this year, commented on nearly all of my posts, I felt uncomfortable, I ran away. Next song. This is the song for her parents on the joyous occasion of their first trip to the new Ikea store that just opeened in town. Thrilling. This is rather accomplished in some fashion, I am sure her parents' friends are all very impressed. Of course, she may be an orphan, raised by repeated viewings of Curly Sue and James Taylor records. If this is the real narrative arc then I do apologize. But Montauk. This is going on and on and on, please do shorten your breaths. Nice interlude of strings, she has s Kate Bush record then, no donkeys no BBC miniseries'. Boring piano. Compare this to Frida Hyvonen who might actually have reason to be difficult but it does not compare. It does not compare. There are only three songs left. Whew. It has been unreasonably cold these past few days. I've been outside in the cold. I've been writing budgets as well. Tell me future Milton Friedman's of the world, what does the future hold? Will I receive a raise? I've not had a raise in three years. Will there be a Sound of Arrows record? Am I dooming it to failure by starting to gestate the same sort of hopes and aspiorations for it that I had for the PAs/Cal record? Are Pas/Cal over? The side projects have started to dribble out. Lia Ices, even, would turn up her nose to a Zoos of Berlin record. Some other song playing. Boring. That is the key descriptor. "I need advice"-"Use fewer adjectives". Is Anthony Hopkins not boring? To be British you needn't be interesting or attractive. I've decided he's dull. I won't, however, add him to my continuum of the "Edward Burns" of their generation-- Gregory Peck, George Segal, Tom Berenger, Mark Ruffalo. Mark Ruffalo is perhaps a Lia Ices fan. When he's sleeping with super models wearing a goatee he's probably playing Unchosen One to outwardly display his conflict over being fabulously wealthy and dater of supermodels and yet edgy enough to be in a movie with Kathleen Robertson. I think this song is nearly over. It is 8AM on the first Saturday of December. I must work today, but not in the office rsther I shall be in the open air, the 40 degree air. It feels much warmer. This album feels much longer than the coming winter. God this is terrible. Why couldn't she be unattractive and thus not entitled to a record contract? I don't know. I repainted my kitfchen. It is Tuscan Gold now. Is that too trendy? I won't have any visitors in my kitchen to let me know such things. Now, hey this is almost interesting, she's building to a crescendo, but here's betting she doesn't deliver on it, oh yeah some skatting over pedestrain drums and thudding piano, snooze. Lia lia lia, living in New York is a curse. Move to Nebraksa, follow Alessi around for a bit, learn to live inside of your head for a time. People often spend too much time living rather than dreaming.