God damn, the Archers of Loaf's Icky Mettle is a fine disc. How the hell did it escape my attention in 1993? I was listening to the indie rock bands the Archers are commonly compared to--Pavement and Dinosaur Jr. and the like. But I didn't pick it up until a few years ago, and even then, "Web In Front," the opening track,
is so good that it overshadowed the rest of the album. I'd repeat "Web" until I got sick of it and then move on to something completely different. But the wonder that
is my iPod's "Alt, Punk, Pop & Rock" playlist kept pulling up other Icky Mettle tracks until I finally saw the error of my ways.
It's weird to feel so freshly enthusiastic about a 12-year-old album. A number of my faves from the same era haven't aged all that well, and I wonder if I'd like Icky as much today if I'd heard it back in '93. But I didn't (hear it then), so I do (love it now).
