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Post-hardcore and Post-rock: what’s next?
On their debut album “The Body and the Soil” (2005) Ira made a point of steering clear of stereotypical musical dress codes.
Their sophomore release “Visions of a Landscape” (2009) then saw them discarding their wall-of-sound fetish. With more melodious arrangements and a remarkable vocal presence, the band pulled off a mesmerizing symbiosis of psychedelic space pop and heavy rock.
Their new effort “These Are the Arms“ now proves a flawless hat-trick. Dynamic and fragile, the music echoes the rumble and the noise infatuation of their musical ancestors. Think Neurosis playing Van Pelt songs on Prozac; or Monochrome covering A Perfect Circle. What once was unrelenting aggression now yields to more subtle melodicism.
Instead of resorting to yell them, the spoken word artist-turned-vocalist Tobias Hoffmann has the finesse to deliver his poetic lyrics without grandstanding, yet with a lot more emphasis.
Conclusion: On a superficial level you may label the songs on Ira’s third release as indie rock with a pop appeal – if surprisingly subtle and profound, moody and noisy. Or you can call them “hard pop.” But maybe you’d be best advised not to label them at all.
The 10″ is housed in a super-heavy sleeve – just the tasty XL-upgrade featuring heavy vinyl and a download code for your iPod pleasure. 300 copies in limited on pure & plain black vinyl. GOLDEN ANTENNA label
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