The Test Icicles would seem indifferent to success. The name, to begin with, plumbs the depths. Even worse than their crimes against punning is the sleeve adorning the British/American three piece’s debut, a splash of horrid colours that may remind you of an uncleaned loo. Before you’ve even taken the CD from its case, your mind is very nearly made up: Test Icicles are the novelty filthy-nasty group nobody has been asking for.
The shame is that, if you can bring yourself to actually listen to their music, The Test Icicles prove interesting, at least, and perhaps even important. Jarring, discordant, awash with uncomfortable blasts of tuneless guitar, For Screening Purposes Only follows in the tradition of great unlistenable records such as Big Black’s first LP and Throbbing Gristle’s early work.
Amidst the din, you will detect – of all things – suggestions of a keen pop sensibility. The singles ‘Boa vs Python’ and ‘Circle Square Triangle’ – supposedly the result of the label telling them to come up with something with a chorus – are fantastic stompers, all swerving melodies and yammering hooks. Elsewhere, things are a little grim and turgid, but at least Test Icicles aren’t trying to pass off Strokes/Interpol pastiche as something new and dangerous. Sometimes, it’s the trying that matters.