Ikara Colt

With the recent Joy Division post and my new found enthusiasm for blogging British bands (woohoo, 2 out nearly 350 posts), it seemed like an ideal time to dish up a little Ikara Colt. Playing that noisy, seemingly familiar blend of arty postpunk, Ikara Colt graced the world with two albums and a couple of singles during their 1999 to 2004 run. Pitchfork had the following take on their 2002 debut Chat and Business

It's as if Ikara Colt ran down a checklist from the back of the NME on how
to be a British punk band: They met at art school, they dress sharp, and they
sound glum. They crib from the best post-punk and noise-rock, and every track on their debut gets a perfect score for pop songform and speedy hook delivery...
The music also falls in line, between Sonic Youth and The Fall, but at least they do it well.... Chat and Business won't bring you down, nor will it kick your ass. It's the kind of album that's never better than its last single, but my complaints will sound like stodgy nit-picking if you go nuts for the guitars

2004's Modern Apprentice is more of the same, if ultimately less engaging. No Ripcord sums it up fairly well:

It’s unfortunate that the familiar sound of some of these tracks, the nagging suspicion that you heard this once before, is always hiding in the background, because there’s worthy enough material here. The previously mentioned raw energy is evident in bucketloads, and there are tons of spiky guitar slashes and fuzz-heavy bass riffs.

Modern Apprentice was never given official release in the US, for reasons unknown to me (perhaps their split). Regardless of the slings and arrows levied at the band I enjoyed both of these albums, with Chat and Business being one of my favorites of the early 21st century. Take a listen

From Chat and Business
Ikara Colt - Sink Venice.mp3
Ikara Colt - At The Lodge.mp3

From Modern Apprentice
Ikara Colt - Wake in the City.mp3
Ikara Colt - How's The World Gonna Take You Now.mp3

Notes:
>Photo from an Ikara Colt fansite