The 11-minute opener lets the audience find its seats and get comfortable as the nasty growl of L.A.'s Icarus Line moves front and center. This is a band determined to find the step beyond Iggy Pop's frightening come-ons and PJ Harvey's radical housequakes. "Don't Let Me Save Your Soul" sounds like a mix of those two influences counterbalancing one another. Elements of Ron Asheton's Fun House–like psychedelic swirled guitars turn the streetwise blues of "Marathon Man" into a well-decided battle of dynamics. A few keyboard and vocal overdubs aside, Slave Vows was cut live, with singer/guitarist/producer Joe Cardamone taking the band through the loosely formatted tunes one by one. Whether it's the hit-and-run intensity of the two-minute "No Money Music" or the extended whirlwind of "Dead Body" (which feels like a drive-by on L.A.'s less traveled streets), The Icarus Line makes rock 'n' roll sound dangerous again.