Iress : "Sleep Now, In Reverse"

 

We are being blessed with another wave of beautiful doom-gaze from Iress. The Los Angeles-based band fronted by Michelle Malley, drifts between darker ominous tones that are emotionally heavy to lighter breezy speculation on songs like "Ever Under" which soar into the sunset from the haunted places among the Hollywood Hills. Dynamically once again everything is perfect. Her vocals lurk around the corner of grunge-influenced riffage that sometimes recalls bands like Curve or Lush They find an almost more conventional place in the mix, as they are less of a moaning sonic texture, and the lyrics are phrased in a more articulated fashion, though emoted with equal conviction as past releases.

There is a dreamier haze to "Mercy" which is pulled together by Malley putting lung power to the chorus. This song is more atmosphere and driven with less rock intention, though still delivering more punch than some of their sonic peers like Emma Ruth Rundle who venture into genres like folk. It plays to the band's favor to stick to their guns as it creates a more melancholic longing. The drums find an almost Police influenced groove on "Leviathan".  If you had to pin a decade to them it would be the 90s, but they are not trying to recreate a particular sound, and while things sound quite delightful here they are more committed to songwriting. However, the soft-to-loud dynamic that bands like Deftones continue to carry the torch for, is also celebrated here. The key is that this is executed unpredictably rather than a set formula, which many bands default to.  

The pace picks up enough to add new vibes to "Lovely ( Forget Me Not ). Malley's hushed alto proves to be quite supple, as her voice reaches into new melodic corners.  This album might be another step away from metal, but it does balance a depressive atmosphere that translates into something more sonically heavy with the vocals as a counterpoint to that. The finesse of their drummer gives her plenty of catchy grooves to layer her beguiling melodies over that sometimes erupt in a more cathartic fashion. The drummer does lay into the cymbals when it's time to get serious. "Knell Mera" certainly opens in a way that is intentionally metal, though they take you on a journey with impressive dynamic breadth with it  The vocal harmonies that crop up are very effective. 

Things take a different turn in the last two songs with the brooding tension of "Sanctuary" working off the droning throb of a distant storm inching closer to the storm as the dusk settles. Her is the rain that falls when they give you the dynamic release  The last song is more of a lingering minimalist pulse that never finds a groove and is more like an experimental outro. It might make for an odd goodbye to the album, but I suppose it works well enough for the overall feel of the album so I will go ahead and round this up to a 10, as it feels like a step forward for the band as songwriters. This drops on Church Road Records on July 26th 

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