The fourth studio album of the band Icarus Phoenix, “I Should Have Known The Things You Never Said”, is a concept album that averts into the accountage of the band’s frontman, Drew Danburry’s life. This album is based on Danburry’s personal experiences after a bitter breakup and the many challenges that come with co-parenting of children.
The album can be seen as a diary where song represents the thought and emotion of the writer and the singer in this case is Danburry. Instead of just the songs, one gets melodious tales and nostalgic messages written on them, which also chart the journey of healing for the artist. Thus, as listeners, we get to witness the emotional journey of Danburry’s character, from anger and confusion to accepting the fact of his life and all the conditions that preceded it.
Gloom / indie with gothic folk accents creates a perfect background for the fantastic lyrics written by Danburry. Recorded in only three days in November, 2022, at June Audio in Provo, Utah, the heat of the moment was well caught on the record. In this session, Icarus Phoenix tracked 40 songs and managed to arrive at an album of ten songs that tell this story.
The involvement of friends and band members with whom Danburry has had previous cooperation adds a level of comfort to the music, and the contributions from musicians like Chaz Prymek and Rocky Cordray provide some more layers to the album just like the lyrics do.
The opener “The Thing You Never Told Me” starts with an atmospheric 30-second section and launches into a grandiose style of Metal song writing. Not complex, not adorned, the beauty in the vocal is simple and emotional which will engage the listeners into the world of Danburry. “Live. Give. Lose. Grow. ,” a second song, is more upbeat and carries a touch of twang and critical mass, although it still chimes with the endgame of an ill fated romance but opening up potential for change with that tender twist of the knife.
High Tide, the third song on the album, is a commentary on the contemporary society and the stress that is part and parcel of life in the modern world. There are many things that make this music easy to listen, its folk influences and bright instrumentation give hope at the time of hardships. He brings the lovely, fluid melody of “In The Blood,” the fourth track on the album, to life and “Hatillo 2” also adds a much more upbeat bit to the darkness of the album, with a beautiful and catchy tune.
Moving to the second half of the album, it is brilliant to see that ‘Painting’ and ‘The Sword and the Harp’ perfectly illustrate singer’s ability to intermingle the bright and the dark, joy and sorrow. “Painting” is slow and almost lascivious and the narrative is completely unadorned, stomping; while “The Sword and the Harp” has a country twang to it; the guitars are heavenly though. The last song of the album is “Doctor! Doctor!” with rather simple lyrics but strongly indicating the tragedy of the band; however, the music of the song remains quite lovely, giving one an idea about the contradictions of the music that is Soрич.
”I Should Have Known The Things You Never Said” is a pent-up burst. Danburry’s capacity to take a private grief and translate it into chiefly identifiable experience makes this one of the captivating heartbreak podcasts for anyone who has sailed tempestuous seas of love loss and regeneration.
