Fever In The Ice Age by 3d5spd

joined on synths and samples, and the resulting foursome became 3d5spd; the name may signify the stars spinning around a cartoon villain's head as his fingers are shredded by whirling bike spokes, then again, it may not.

Clutching kryptonite, amps that turned up to the square root of negative 28, pipe-screens, crayon bongos, nylon pickups and flesh-eating oscillators, 3d recorded a whole lot of notes, UFO noises and myriad metric twists and released them as their debut CD Faster Gravity in Jan. 1998. Later that year the band was included on Daemon Records' Hempcyclopedia CD-ROM compilation alongside such notables as Michael Franti of Spearhead. In August 1999, 3d self-released the CD-EP Tracking the Hydroplane, an even more interstellar effort that colorized the band's fixation with taming the anomaly. While recording what they planned to be their next full-length, 3d discovered unintended threads connecting four tracks and released them in August 2001 as the Radial Quartet EP. In mid-2002 3d inked a deal with Atlanta-based indie Two Sheds Music, which released the full-length CD Fever in the Ice Age in Nov. 2002. Currently the band is constructing their next record at their recently configured studio The Farm. Various events that have momentarily suppressed frustration: nationwide college radio airplay; Hydroplane's "Propeller Skies" inclusion in the SPIN College Radio Series; Fever in the Ice Age's "Now and Then" licensed by Kenneth Cole Shoes for a special customers-only Fall 2003 mix-CD; shows with American Analog Set, Bailter Space, The Dismemberment Plan, The Sunshine Fix, Seven Percent Solution and Uz Jsme Doma.

Select Opinions:

"This Atlanta quartet's new album, the Two Sheds release 'Fever in the Ice Age,' is a marvel of shifting rhythms and careening chunks of guitar, all given added texture by strategically placed keyboards. It's a propulsive and adventurous piece of work. The band's most distinctive feature is the voice of Chris Hoke, a scratchy yet powerful instrument that sounds like a cross between the Manic Street Preachers' James Dean Bradfield and the Dismemberment Plan's Travis Morrison. Speaking of the Dismemberment Plan, 3d5spd sometimes recalls that Washington band's rhythmic experimentation and well-developed melodic sense, with an added layer of progressive-rock gravity."

Shane Harrison, Atlanta Journal Constitution, 11/15/02*

*The 12/24/02 edition of the AJC also voted Fever one of the best Atlanta, non-major-label releases of 2002

"Atlanta-based 3d5spd may have set the ball rolling back in '98 with their debut full length release, Faster Gravity, setting into motion a distinct, yet unclassifiable, art-rock aesthetic which was ultimately praised for its restless variety and unpredictability. 3d may have also kept the ball rolling with their second album, Tracking the Hydroplane, which found the band grappling with spacial textures and structural deconstruction, yielding yet another extraordinary product of pre-post-prog rock. But it wasn't until now, with the November release of their second full-length album, Fever In The Ice Age, did the proverbial ball of transcendence get hurled into the finite. This is undeniably 3d5spd's most mature record to date. Sustaining the band's innate progressive tendencies, dramatically shifting rhythm sections propelled by electric keys, synths and variable guitar riffs, Fever in the Ice Age exposes a multi-layered juxtaposition of signature prog-rock experimentation with incredibly well-developed melodic arrangements. Tracks like "This Situation," "Tunnel Vision," and "LightWeight" show a shift from the lengthy experimental progressions of Faster Gravity toward shorter, radio-friendly compositions. But fear not, 3d's erratic, uncompromising leanings shine through on "We Accelerate" and the many delicious sample interludes. This record marks yet another success on a continuously growing, continuously evolving, ascent of production. Clearer than ever before, it exposes the band's gifted ability to pool together a multitude of independent musical tastes- stretching from 70's acts like King Crimson and Yes to Flaming Lips and post-rock outfits like Tortoise and Mercury Rev- and manufacture them into such a unique and intelligent sound, less the expense of ever sounding manufactured. 3d5spd has successfully expanded themselves as musicians as well as technicians. The cohesiveness of this album is spectacular considering it was recorded at two different studios(CARA and Bakos Amp Works) by two separate engineers, with final overdubs and mixing completed at yet a third studio (Southern Tracks with long-time co-conspirator Karl Egsieker). 3d5spd members Justin Gray (bass), Chris Hoke (guitars and lead vocals), Sean Moore (drums and textures), and Joie Williams (synths, samples, vocals), to the self-inflicted detriment of classification, cleverly label themselves as (ah hem) "psychedelia skewed by prog-rock-pop." Well said, well claimed."

Robin Kaiser, Southeast Performer

"One of Atlanta's more enduring indie-rock outfits, 3d5spd's prog leanings are more apparent than ever - in fact, they're starting to sound kind of like Yes at times, in a D.I.Y. sort of way."

Roni Sarig, Creative Loafing, 11/13/02

"Certainly 3d5spd have always had an affinity for re-inventing the sprawling, intricate progressions of early-'70s FM acts like Yes and Crimson in their own earnest image, but never has the approach worked quite as well as it does on Fever in the Ice Age. The musicianship is extraordinary, and it all sounds very passionate."

Jeff Clark, Stomp and Stammer, 12/02

"Looking for some intelligent indie rock that juts between prog and experimental? Tuneful and expressive, sort of like how Sting started out, full of promise and punk (3d5spd is decidedly 'spunk' though). The vocalist sounds like a young Sting just about all the time. That and impassioned playing, how can it be a bad thing?"

Ben Ohmart, The Muse's Muse

"3d5spd is just one of those bands that creates music that you can't get out of your head. There's a punk rock-ish nature to this music, an early alternative rock style kind of like The Cure, but there's also about five other styles all eloquently combined in the mix. That's probably why it left me wondering if I've heard this band before. All in all the music is great and doesn't pull any punches when it comes to being raw and full of energy."

Michael Allison, Music Dish e-journal

"To describe 3d5spd's sound, the critical mind wants to wander all the way back to the great days of Yes (those being the great days of Yes that also influenced Vincent Gallo's music, but to different results), or the acid-bitter guitar spread of King Crimson and MC5, when the drugs of psych-rock started to burn out and music turned a little more psycho-rock."

Lee Henderson, Splendidzine.com

"3d5spd have made an incredibly tight album that just happens to play like a random indie rock jukebox with a few nods to Led Zeppelin thrown in for garnish. With rhythms that zig-zag like a Plinko chip and guitar riffs that swing from Modest Mouse to Cheap Trick, I've rarely heard an album with such a span."

Terry Sawyer, Sponic

"Overall, this album is a spectacular display of musicianship and an excellent example of the space rock genre."

Jeff Petermann, Actionattackhelicopter.com

"It's impressive when a band can be as powerful with an atmospheric jangle-pop tune as they can with an all out riff-rock assault, and I must admit, 3d5spd is capable of that and more."

DJ Anderson, Cosmik Debris

"I like the Flaming Lips a lot. I bet the members of 3d5spd do as well. I'm happy they sent me this album, because it's made my day brighter. Lead vocalist/guitarist Chris H. has one of those voices that isn't pretty, but it fits the music. Add him to the list of people like Wayne Coyne, Bobby Bare, Jr., and Gibby Haynes as people who really sound like they're struggling to find the right note, but sound perfect with their music. In a way, I wish more bands sounded like 3d5spd, but then I realize, it wouldn't be as fun if everyone knew how to sound this good. Buy this album. Find it on the net and download it, do whatever you must, you should hear it."

Samuel Barker, Reviewstation.com

"Fever in the Ice Age is a trippy mix of crunchy guitars, keyboard-driven space rock and sprawling prog in the vein of a less funky Jane's Addiction. From the 70s-esque "LightWeight" to the ethereal, Q and Not U vibe on "Clarity", the record is consistently challenging and relentlessly catchy. At one moment, the keyboards will have listeners wondering, "is this new wave?" the next, the vocals will sound like psychedelic metal ("Red Wire"), then the groove will turn 80s and from there it might spiral into something like Spiritualized. Plus, there's "Celsius One", "Celsius Two" and "Celsius Three" - beautiful, damaged pieces of analog synthesizer, ambient noise that buffer the songs on the second half of the album. This may sound all over the place, but the CD still manages to be one of the most consistent releases of 2002 and marks 3d5spd as a band to pay attention to."

Charles Spano, All Music Guide

"From Fever in the Ice Age's first 16th-note 2 & 4 snare drags to the last smash of the crash, 3d5spd drummer Sean M. is as solid as solid gets. Sean's kit sounds very sweet in that indie sort of way, and no drum or cymbal is left untouched. Each quirky song gives Sean the room to flail and fly while holding down the beat."

Fran Azzarto, Modern Drummer

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