Over 18 years and five studio albums, with each evolutionary jump and a new vein of existing, Iceage have worked inside the idea of collapse. That collapse, or the thrill of being close to it, was a way of playing, singing and writing—a tumbling through life in song, catching it as it falls. Throughout the Danes’ sixth studio album, For Love of Grace & the Hereafter, there’s another layer of sparkle to the band. Passion and romantic love has typically framed Iceage's songs as a form of resistance, yet throughout For Love of Grace & the Hereafter, it flows pure and unafraid. It’s both fun and as serious as ever, growing and glowing through love.
Produced and mixed by the band (Elias Rønnenfelt, Dan Kjær Nielsen, Jakob Tvilling Pless, Johan S. Weith, and Casper Morilla Fernandez) and Nis Bysted, the album is bright and energetic. “The first songs started emerging immediately after making Heavy Glory,” Rønnenfelt mentions, referring to his 2024 solo album. “Having had an outlet for stripped-back balladry, it felt like the right thing to channel a more ferocious side of ourselves for the band's next step.” This next step sounds like running, but in a new direction; running to be somewhere and with someone, rather than running away or into the fire.
Formed in 2008, Iceage were teenagers when their debut, New Brigade (2011), was released, blending post-punk and hardcore, quickly gaining international recognition. You’re Nothing (2012) intensified the youthful aggression while later albums, Plowing Into the Field of Love (2014), Beyondless (2018) and Seek Shelter (2021), introduced a grand, world-weary vaudeville element to their sound.