CCMusic.com

2018 release. Icon Of Ego is Arc Iris' third groundbreaking album as a trio that packs the heft of a far bigger band with fully realized sonic and visual intensity. On this album, vocalist / guitarist Jocie Adams, keyboardist/sample artist Zach Tenorio-Miller and drummer Ray Belli have crafted a vividly expressionistic new album that reflects both the group's protean talents as well as it's journey of survival. Icon of Ego finds a stronger, more experienced band. Recording at Providence's Columbus Theater, home to silent movies and vaudeville during the '20s, the band has evolved into a concentrated pop-prog explosion, mixing styles with disparate elements that captivate and surprise. With heavy synthesizer work by Tenorio and Adams, and seemingly impossible transitions executed effortlessly by Belli, the songs here carry a thick, analog electronic sound that harks back to the '70s. Presiding over these are Adams' powerful vocals that house the energy under pop forms.