Where to Begin is the sound of relationships straining, cracking, breaking apart and coming together again—perhaps not since Rumours has a band been able to turn so much personal and professional turmoil into such a cohesive statement of truth and beauty. Fully half of IKE has been jettisoned since their last studio release, 2005’s In Real Life: guitarist Cliff Hillis and drummer Dave Anthony both departed, leaving lead vocalist John Faye and bassist Joann Schmidt to carry on. After recommitting to each other and to IKE, Faye and Schmidt enlisted guitarist Brett Talley (from the northeast Philly band Outset) and drummer Tom Kristich (from the Jellybricks) and immediately set to work on the new album. Much of the material on Where to Begin was penned by Faye during the period when musical and personal relationships were falling apart, and the band’s continued existence was very much in doubt. Consequently, the resultant songs are as emotionally powerful as they are melodically supercharged. The disc’s opener, “The End of the Rope,” sets the tone for all that follows (“I’ve got vision and suspicion….”) as Faye sings about vainly struggling to salvage a doomed relationship: “We’ll give it all we’ve got/And all we’ve got is hope.” Throughout Where to Begin, Faye’s (and IKE’s) emotions run raw: from aching (“Damage Control”), to bitterness (“The Way I See It”), to longing (“Carry Away”), only the inescapable strength of the hooks and the crystalline beauty of Faye’s vocals lighten the otherwise heavy mood. IKE has not only survived, they have flourished; pop music lovers everywhere are the richer.
--Rick Schadelbauer [May 10, 2008]
