Icons for a New Religion is the first full – as in not self-released - work from the UK-based electronica duo of Alec Bowman and Kingsley Ravenscroft. Taking pointers from the ambience of early Tangerine Dream, the glitch experimentation of Autechre and the avant-garde ritualism of the legendary Coil, Formication combine elements of all of these influential bands and produce music that draws on them all in their own unique style.

The almost 14 minute “Arise and Originate” opens the album with swathes of sweeping electronic texture, weird reversed or manipulated voices, shimmering synth lines and bassy mechanical rhythms. Right from the outset, Icons for a New Religion sets a tone of nervous tension and the dark impending danger of the unknown. “Nest 4 (A New City)” is considerably more minimal, focussing on slow precision beats, cascading wind chime percussion and discrete bursts of fizzing distortion. Although quite different in structure and content to “Arise and Originate”, “Nest 4 (A New City)” is just as atmospheric, the former is darker but the latter heavier on anxious tension. “In the Kingdom of the Electronic Eye” is different again, this time more in your face, aggressive and energetic whilst still maintaining a dark unsettling tone through the use of monk-like chants and a ritualistic undercurrent. Probably most similar to Coil however are “Dead Underground” and “Faces of Fire (Introspection)”, the first a rhythmic experimental electronic track and the second a lengthy ritual ambient excursion but both with very John Balance-esque treated vocals. “Minute” is similar to “Nest 4 (A New City)” and is again heavy with bubbling atmospheric tension augmented with overlapping voices that help to give it an otherworldly presence. In contrast, “Faces of Fire (the Frictionless Continuum)” is brighter in tone although the duo can’t resist adding a bit of subtle tension in the form of a steady heartbeat-like background rhythm.

At various points during this album Formication could be likened to Autechre, Coil or any number dark ambient artists but ultimately they are none of these but acknowledge them all whilst adding their own identity to the music they create. Icons for a New Religion is a carefully constructed album of quality listening music that could be described as dark ambient, avant-garde or experimental but is actually a fusion of them all and more.

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