IRESS – Bixler Stage

Iress live @ ArcTanGent 2024

Since their formation in 2017, Church Road Records and ArcTanGent have been the perfect bedfellows and given the sheer beauty of their Sleep Now, In Reverse album, it’s clear to see why LA’s IRESS are on both rosters. They mesmerise the sizeable crowd with their dreamy doom-gaze, led by the soaring and impassioned vocals of frontwoman Michelle Malley, set against a wall of guitars and underpinned by a weighty rhythm section. The raw power and emotion Malley puts into the chorus of Falling is nothing short of astonishing, especially given how demure she comes across when she gives her quiet thank yous in between songs. The band showcases their versatility when they bring out the colossal riffs of The Remains, but it’s when Malley ditches they guitar to leave everything on the stage for closer Wolves that everyone in Bixler is wholly and unconditionally enamoured with these bright young souls.

Rating: 9/10