W: Peter James May

London-born post-punk outfit Ice Baths (Alex, Diogo, Ed & Tom) make their long-awaited return with the brand-new EP Island Gardens, releasing via the Cornish-based label Krautpop!. This latest offering showcases the diverse sonic avenues the band have been exploring since their last release.

The EP opens in a sleepy fashion with ‘DFW’, which slowly wakes up, gathers momentum, and builds to a chaotic culmination before sloppily falling back into bed. Immediately after, the title track ‘Island Gardens’ sucker-punches the listener with the snappy frustrations of a global pandemic scuppering best-laid plans (“I’ve got lines in my face / I chased away my dreams, out the window and out of sight”). ‘Eko Wine Bar’ then drunkenly swims into view—a cocktail of distorted saxophones paired with tales of mysterious goings-on at a potentially fictional venue.

The listener is abruptly sobered up by ‘Tokens’, a gothic-new-wave-punk track that weighs up the sadness and humour (“Sitting in a cheap tent / Ripping your bong hit”) of placing your strength in seemingly small things. Finally, ‘Emily Did Say’ closes the EP with a dip into the baroque, mixing the ghost of a guitar played with a metal pole alongside a descending, ballroom-esque chorus.

Ice Baths previously turned heads with their well-received self-titled debut album and follow-up EP Decadent Sprinter, both released on the esteemed London imprint Blank Editions. These releases saw them join a heavyweight roster alongside the likes of Thurston Moore, Black Country, New Road, and Douglas Hart (The Jesus and Mary Chain), while garnering support from BBC Radio 6 Music’s Tom Ravenscroft, resulting in a live session.

Over the past few years, the band have shared stages with Squid, Crack Cloud, and HMLTD, playing iconic UK venues including London’s 100 Club, Leeds’ Brudenell Social Club, and Glasgow’s Old Hairdressers.

The Island Gardens EP represents the culmination of all four members combining their unique songwriting with a free, experimental approach. The tracks were brought to life at the DIY High-Line Deco studio, with close friend Martin Pease engineering behind the boards.