Reviewed by Ben Lilford

Staples of the Greenbelt Arts Festival with their club culture-based worship services, the Ikon community of Belfast strive to reveal God as one who "escapes all our attempts at domestication through words, images and experience" and with the liquid feel of 'Dubh' they definitely succeed. From the outset, the album's music fades in and wafts over you as if drums and loops were never invented, to the point where you wonder how this music was put together with seemingly nothing to hang a melody onto; indeed, where exactly is the melody? 'Dubh' is the soundtrack that accompanies the Ikon services held at the Menagerie Bar, Belfast. To allow the listener chance to hear what goes on at these services, samples of the events and recorded prose punctuate the tracks. At first the spoken prose can seem an intrusion, but the Ikon website is a great explainer of what's going on. The music behind 'Dubh' is more an accompaniment to the poetry read, visuals seen and prayers spoken rather than a main focal point. This is to avoid trampling the messages with attention grabbing hooks and beats. The first CD Ikon released was blank, 'Dubh' contains music that avoids being listened to. In essence, they're amazing worship tools, releasing us to listen to God and God the space to speak.

The opinions expressed in this article are not necessarily those held by Cross Rhythms. Any expressed views were accurate at the time of publishing but may or may not reflect the views of the individuals concerned at a later date.

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