For Love of Grace & the Hereafter by Iceage

Iceage is a punk band from Copenhagen, Denmark that formed in 2008. For Love of Grace & the Hereafter is their sixth full length album after New Brigade (2011), You’re Nothing (2013), Plowing Into the Field of Love (2014), Beyondless (2018), and Seek Shelter (2021).

Beyondless was my introduction to Iceage, mainly through one of their singles, “Pain Killer”, featuring Sky Ferreira. Their next album, Seek Shelter, was a top 20 favorite album of 2021. I am thankful I got to see them on tour supporting this album in May of 2022, with Wiki opening. What a strange and wonderful show – I think there were maybe 50-100 people in the crowd.

Almost 5 years later, we have For Love of Grace & the Hereafter, which I think is my favorite album of theirs to date. It’s lively, bright and catchy, and their most complete album from start to finish. If you aren’t familiar with their music, I like to say that it’s kind of like if Wire decided to play Rolling Stones songs. A bit of swagger, angular, tuneful, and at times noisy and abrasive.

Favorite tracks:

• “Ember”
• “Star”
• “The Weak”
• “No Fear”
• “Tender Blades”
• “1835”
• “Lifetime”