After listening to Enemymine’s The Ice in Me, my immediate reaction was to pity these three musicians. This pathos was not borne from empathizing with the emotions driving their lyrics, communicated mainly through raspy, incomprehensible screams and howls, nor from the fact that Enemymine will likely not receive any major radio play from this album. I pitied them because, hidden behind the shrieks of the lead singer, I could hear and appreciate the potential this band exhibited in the quality of their instrumentation and variety of style. During the instrumental stretches, the majority of the music was that satisfying combination of raspy guitars and basses, pounding drums and crashing cymbals that one often craves during the stress of midterms and finals, although these promising beginnings are often compromised by the addition of misadvised guitar riffs, or harsh, discordant vocals. Not to be defined solely as a “screamo” rock band, Enemymine also offers several songs with distinctly different sounds, experimenting with both electronica and jazz genres. Songs like “Passive Equalizer,” “Setting the Traps” and “Coccoon” have original instrumental arrangements, deviating from what might be expected from an angsty bunch of hard rockers. The jazz influence in the instrumental “Man Enough” is later incorporated into Enemymine’s traditional metal approach in “The Balm,” a title that suggests the band is trying to reassure its audience that they haven’t forgotten that they are a rock band. The Ice in Me is not without its flaws and disappointments, but the obvious musical talent of Enemymine is clearly present in the overall sound. This album leaves me hoping that the next album will see the band working out its incongruities to find a distinct sound that displays their promise as potentially great underground rock musicians.

—Emily W. Porter

Blues Traveler

Bridge (A&M)