Lia Ices -- 9:30 Club - Oct 20 2014

Lia Ices - Tonight's opener (and closer for me) is an interesting singer who does well to create pop music with a personal flair. Lia Ices' powerful voice elevates the music maybe not to Kate Bush levels, but to something that will grab your attention. The drums are steady, the guitar lighter and more intricate, and the keys and backing tracks there to thicken out the sound a bit. It could be dream pop were it not for the strong vocals that will keep you wide awake. Still, you may drift off into her pop world with her array of songs that may be a bit too steady. The second to last cut featured a heftier electric guitar with some added synth leads that created some extra excitement. The only flaw for me was that the set should of closed on this cut rather than the next song which was a bit of a let down. Still, a solid set of interesting music that went over well enough with the sold-out crowd awaiting Phantogram.