Test Icicles reunite, sort of
Surprisingly influential art/dance/punk group Test Icicles are reuniting – sort of.
Brooklyn band Friends will play a show at New York's Glasslands tomorrow (Saturday 31st August), with support from Greatest Hits and Haribo. Interestingly, on the bill is a Test Icicles DJ set from two of the three original members, Sam Mehran and Dev Hynes.
For those unfamiliar with Test Icicles, they were a trio comprised of Dev Hynes, Sam Mehran and Rory Attwell, who made a rambunctious dance punk racket and released a grand total of one album for Domino back in 2005 before splitting up. They also graced the cover of Dummy, back when we were a pen-and-ink magazine.
The trio went on to bigger and, arguably, better things – Sam Mehran and Dev Hynes relocated to America, with Mehran making astounding outsider pop as Outer Limits Recordings, releasing records on 100% Silk and collaborating with artists like James Ferraro, while Hynes was reincarnated as folk singer Lightspeed Champion before going on to pop domination as Blood Orange and as a songwriter/producer for the likes of Solange and MKS. Rory Atwell, meanwhile, played in a few other bands but is better known as a producer for indie groups like Palma Violets, Yuck and The Vaccines.
So no, it's not really a "reunion" as such, but either way, it's nice to know that Hynes and Mehran are still buddies and still have enough of a sense of humour to actually call this a Test Icicles DJ set. Given the sheer quality of songwriting that Mehran and Hynes in their solo endeavours, we can only hope it leads to something more.
