Following a string of EP releases, Ice Level is the claustropobically elaborate full-length debut from Brooklyn-based indie cold funk collective
Ava Luna. Taking inspiration from the late-'70s Ze Records hybridization of funk and No Wave, or the like minded freak-disco of 99 Records acts like
ESG, the eight songs on Ice Level are all slick, slinky, and wiry numbers. The nervy R&B compositions are fronted by brainchild/N.Y.C. producer
Carlos Hernandez and augmented by stunning vocal arrangements from
Felicia Douglass,
Rebecca Kauffman, and Anna Sian. The album is an in-depth study in tension and release, sometimes on a micro level, aiming for the skeletal instrumentation and directness of something like
Lizzy Mercier Descloux's disconnected grooves. Complex vocal harmonies bracket almost every verse beautifully à la
Dirty Projectors, and the songs' lack of any type of hooks or pop sensibilities isn't a problem, as they get by on the power of the vocal interplay and liquid nature of the playing. ~ Fred Thomas