Danish band Iceage started out as an abrasive punk rock quartet, before exploring a more multi-faceted approach to songwriting. Iceage was formed in 2008 by singer and guitarist Elias Bender Rønnenfelt, guitarist Johan Suurballe Wieth, bassist Jakob Tvilling Pless, and drummer Dan Kjær Nielsen; the quartet, whose average age at the time was 17, had been friends for years before they began making an impression with their music. In 2009, Iceage issued their first self-titled EP, and by 2011 they'd teamed with Tambourhinoceros Records to issue their debut album, a nervy and hard-hitting set called New Brigade. When the album was issued in the United States in mid-2011, Iceage made their American debut with a performance in Brooklyn, New York. In 2013, Iceage unveiled their second album, the more sophisticated but still brutal set You're Nothing, and the LP earned them a deal with the successful independent label Matador Records. In 2014, Iceage released album number three, Plowing Into the Field of Love, again through Matador; the album marked a new creative direction for the group, with horns, keyboards, and acoustic guitars introduced into the arrangements as the songs became more dynamic and eclectic, without leaving their darker side behind. They continued the trend on their next full-length, 2018's Beyondless, although they were further influenced by Rønnenfelt's burgeoning side project Marching Church, with whom he had released two albums in between Iceage records. ~ Mark Deming