After leaving the band Suetta, Eric Schlittler began producing cassette recordings using inexpensive home equipment.[1]
Calling his project Kid Icarus after the 1986 Nintendo Entertainment System video game of the same name,[2][3]
Schlittler recorded Maps of the Saints in 1998 and 1999.[4] The album contained lo-fi songs in the style of Guided by Voices,[4] as well as psychedelic tracks influenced by Roky Erickson, Scott Walker, and Syd Barrett.[5]
Schlittler's next album, 2002's Be My Echo, included a mix of lo-fi rock and acoustic singer-songwriter music.[6]
A remasteredreissue of Maps of the Saints followed in 2003.[5] While Schlittler continued to write and record in his home studio,[2] Kid Icarus grew as a project to incorporate his friends and other musicians in northeastern Pennsylvania.[1]The Metal West, Kid Icarus's third album, was released in 2005, and marked Schlittler's first attempt at a hi-fi recording.[2][3] The album featured contributions from guitarist Justin Marchegiani,[2] bassist Ted Baird, drummer Thad Moyer, and keyboardist Chuck Keller.[3]Spin magazine writer Lane Brown compared Schlittler's vocals to Elliott Smith, and called the band "Pavement on psychedelics."[2]
Mike Schiller of PopMatters described the album's lead track, "Beekeepers on the Edge of Town", as the "most obvious choice for a possible hit." Schiller added that the song sounded somewhat like The Hives, "if [singer] Howlin’ Pelle [Almqvist] was Dronin’ Pelle."[3] Kid Icarus released a split 7-inch single with the band Das Black Milk in 2009.[7]
