Joe Cardamone of Los Angeles band The Icarus Line is as prolific as he is infamous. He recently released two films, Holy War II (ft. Arrow de Wilde of Starcrawler, Leafar Seyer of Prayers) and The Icarus Line Must Die (ft. Ariel Pink, Keith Morris of Black Flag/Circle Jerks, Melissa Brooks of The Aquadolls, Annie Hardy of Giant Drag). His latest project is the Holy War mixtape due out September 21 on Helium Records, one song of which ("Asleep at the Heel") is also featured on the Holy War II film soundtrack.
Today, Cardamone shares the brooding video for Holy War mixtape track "Love Roses" which debuted with TIDAL. A standout track of the collection, the video slices into the deep well of emotion that spawned this new project. "'Love Roses' is one of the songs that got held back off the initial Holy War drop because it is kind of its own microcosm," explains Cardamone. "The film shadows the content of the song squarely and fills in the blanks that the song leaves up in the air. Love means so many different things on a minute by minute basis. Down to a molecular level it exists. That's how I feel anyways. So just another night in LA we give up Love Roses."
Cardamone began his career as the ringleader of LA's The Icarus Line, highly regarded as one of the scene-pavers for rock in Los Angeles. After the group disbanded, he turned from his own music and built a recording studio in Burbank where he cut records with pals like Ariel Pink and the Cult. He took nights for his own new material, which would later become Holy War, as a way for him to work through the grief that surrounded him.
Cardamone's wife struggled with severe depression, Alvin DeGuzman (Icarus Line) passed from cancer, close friend and collaborator Annie Hardylost both her young child and partner just months apart and he went on a disastrous tour with Scott Weiland, which ended with Weiland's overdose death. Finding himself without a band or direction, Holy War was born.
Watch the "Love Roses" video here:
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