There's an irredeemably strong streak in the modern indie hipster to be 'hipper than thou'. Sic Alps embody that trait. I only chanced upon them yesterday when their name was mentioned in a review for someone else. They are no more, having split three years or so ago, having spent the best part of the previous decade scattering singles and albums everywhere like so much indie confetti.
They're probably evidence that Pavement are a bigger influence on the modern indie, (that word again, but it has to be used), sensibility than Pixies or Nirvana, for better or worse. Pixies used in-jokes too of course but they could generally be traced back fairly reliably to the Bible, surf and rock music references, Sci-Fi and so forth. Pavement took the lead from Sonic Youth in making their references deliberately obscure and self-contained, between the band and their immediate circle, they fed a need, and Sic Alps are an example of a band taking that instinct one step further, from their name onwards. What they're referring to in their song titles and lyrics can not really be untangled which is probably the core to their appeal.
Still, what they do, or at least what I've posted here and listened to yesterday appeals to me at least. This is probably only the tip of their iceberg, the most listened to songs at the top of their Spotify playlist. A band to namedrop if that is your want, to be hipper than the average hipster.
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