Icon for Hire at the Gramercy Theatre

Ariel of Icon for Hire

Icon for Hire was forged when Swedish-born fashion designer and vocalist Ariel met guitarist Shawn Jump in Decatur, Illinios, in 2007. They chose the band’s name as a satirical comment on the state of the music industry. The band's current lineup also includes bassist Josh Kincheloe and drummer Adam Kronshagen. Icon for Hire has two EPs and released its debut album, Scripted, in 2011. Icon for Hire premiered its new single, "Cynics and Critics," via lyric video last week, and announced that its second album, the self-titled Icon for Hire, will be released on October 15.

Returning to the Gramercy Theatre tonight on Live Nation’s Ones to Watch Tour with Redlight King, Icon for Hire played older songs and introduced new songs from its forthcoming album. Ariel told the audience that the band learned all the rules with the first album and broke all the rules with the second. Hence, the new songs and the evening’s performance were more expansive than one might expect from a budding hard rock band. Sorry, band members, but Ariel’s angst-laden vocal style continued to bring to mind inescapable comparisons to other female-fronted hard rock bands like Paramore and Flyleaf. On the other hand, however, the occasional electronic bookends on some of the songs recalled Skillet and Linkin Park, and the frequent hip hop raps brought in a whole other dimension to this strange brew. Ariel often spoke candidly to the audience and stated that the new songs showed her more vulnerable side, and they did, especially when she accompanied herself solo on the keyboard. Fortunately, the slick mix worked well, and Icon for Hire offered a fresh take on commercial radio-ready hard rock.