14 Iced Bears were as indie as a formica table down at the social. Formed in Brighton in 1985 by Robert Sekula and Nick Emery, they were able in seven years to record a sizeable amount of material and these two double album retrospectives are testament to that.
Whilst they fitted nicely with the C86 scene they were also heavily indebted to The Byrds and Velvet Underground which set them apart from that crowd in some way. Towards the end of their career they even supported Sterling Morrison and Mo Tucker and Alex Chilton to boot.
Their self-titled debut was considered a masterpiece of psychedelic pop and it's easy to see why the plaudits came their way. As is often the case it boils down to the strength of the song writing. The Bears were not afraid to slow things right down in an attempt to be genuinely wistful (Dust Remains) and this is a skill in itself. They could even manage a more driving wistful such as on 'Cut', either way wistfulness was a watchword for this band.
The singer could clearly sing and wrote heartfelt lyrics that he seems invested in. He reminds me actually of Mark Gardener from Ride, particularly on tracks like 'Surfacer'. Other faves from this album include 'Holland', 'Train Song' and 'Moths'. As always with Optic Nerve there is a plethora of out-takes from singles, sessions and imports to delve into. The best of these are 'Come Get Me' (originally released on Sarah Records), Brydsian 'Sure To See', 'Miles Away (Peel Session) and 'Like A Dolphin'.
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'Wonder' followed three years later and by now they had strayed even further from their indie pop roots and allegedly into more spaced out and psychedelic regions. It seems to me there was also an attempt to get a polished sound with more depth and clarity. 'Hold On' is big and full without being bombastic. 'Heaven Star' sounds like the JPS Experience and a studio upgrade must have been part of the deal on this album.
The more I listen to it however, the less psychedelic it becomes, or certainly it seems less 'delic' than their debut. There is also less variety, both within and between the tracks and at times they labour the point a little. There are nevertheless some great tracks, in particular 'When It Comes' and 'Rare (Like You Are). From the second disc of extras their cover of 'Summer Nights' is indeed a blast and 'In The Morning' deftly doffs its cap to the bucolic but again, the extras aren't as good as on the first album.
All in all Optic Nerve have done a sterling job once more but if I had to pick one of these to purchase it would definitely be '14 Iced Bears'.
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