This came out in 2003 – or at least that’s when I got it. Here’s what I said about it back then (with some minor editing):
Here’s something interesting: A great new rock band that aren’t from Sweden.
Co-ed foursome Ikara Colt are your typical bunch of art-school dropouts from London, but don’t hold it against them. Likewise, try not to get too wrapped up in their name, which either has something to do with guns or a fictional horse, depending on which story you believe. Instead, focus on what really counts, which is the sound of their debut full-length Chat and Business. And one helluva racket it is — an anxious, aggressive subdivision of contemporary post-punk that stakes out its own bit of turf somewhere between the spindly angularity of Wire, the gloomy oppression of Joy Division, the yelping abandon of The Fall, the noisy artsiness of Sonic Youth and the guttural aggression of The Stranglers. Heady company, to be sure, but with impressive, recklessly aggressive cuts like One Note, Rudd and Sink Venice, Ikara Colt more than earn their place in the running. Take that, Sweden.
