[SOPHOMORE SLUMP] Iress - Rebellion, Manchester, 13th August 2024

Iress arrived in a rainy Manchester for only their second UK gig, supporting Hexvessel. Their recent release Sleep Now, In Reverse is their best album yet, so I was looking forward to seeing them live. Maybe because it’s their first UK sortie, they spread their all too brief set across their back catalogue, which sadly meant only two tracks from their recent release.

However, they have great quality in depth. Starting off with the duo of Blush & Ricochet from their 2023 Solace EP, they prove their description of their sound as “dark sexy heavy music” is bang on the money. Most of their songs move in a glacial manner – slow but with an awe-inspiring majesty.

At the heart of this is the unique vocal talent of Michelle Malley. Her voice moving from a gentle whisper to a powerful crescendo effortlessly. One concert goer remarked to me after the set, “she’s got an impressive set of pipes on her”, which sums things up beautifully. Michael Maldonado’s bass underpins things with a combination of soft notes and ringing bass chords, while guitarist Graham Walker adds subtle textures over Michelle’s guitar. Glenn Chu’s expansive drumming gives each song a widescreen feel; simple but very powerful.

Falling sounds spine-tingling, with its subtly shifting dynamics and gorgeous, but powerful chorus melody. Nest from 2020’s Flaw has a beautiful verse before its potent chorus. The highlight of the set is The Remains, from their new album. It raises the hairs on the back of your neck, as well as carrying the heaviest part of the set in the staccato stabs towards its conclusion.

The final song is Wolves from their 2015 debut album, Prey. It’s a great song, built around dirty bass chords. Personally, I’d have preferred the stunningly gorgeous In Reverse or the riff-heavy Knell Mera to close proceedings. However, finally seeing them live, not only matched, but exceeded my high expectations.

Come back soon, you dark sexy beasts.

[EVERYTHING IS NOISE] Iress – “Sleep Now, In Reverse”

There’s a yearning for escapism that Iress tap into on Sleep Now, In Reverse that is hauntingly visceral. This record reveals a tapestry of emotions woven by a ghastly infatuation that which you can’t help but be completely sedated by it. Add to that their enchanting (but no less heavy) take on doomgaze and you’re left with possibly one of the most revealing rock and metal releases of this year. And for this to be my very first exposure to them – it’s truly an insane thought to have.

[Zware Metalen] Iress – Sleep Now, In Reverse

Sleep Now, In Reverse is de derde langspeler van het Amerikaanse Iress. Een band die naar eigen zeggen ‘dream metal’ maakt. Zangeres Michelle Malley wordt kennelijk door haar omgeving ‘de Adele van de metal’ genoemd. Dat belooft dus wat. Is het Iress to impress? We gaan het meemaken.

Het eerste nummer, Falling, opent met wat shoegaze-achtige gitaren die zweven in een dikke laag nagalm. De dromerige zanglijnen bieden hiervoor de mysterieuze omlijsting die het nodig heeft. De vocalen hebben een iets intensere ondertoon dan we van bijvoorbeeld Slowdive gewend zijn. Mede hierdoor weet Iress echt een eigen geluid te creëren. Echter bevindt de zang soms wat te veel op de voorgrond in de mix, waardoor ze op die momenten een te overheersend karakter krijgt. Dit leidt soms een beetje af van de dromerigheid van de rest van de nummers. Als een sterke wierook die even aanwezig als bedwelmend is. Maar ook in de geur van wierook zit schoonheid. Dit geldt ook voor Iress.

Want op Sleep Now, In Reverse is veel om van te genieten. De snik in de stem van Michelle en het slepende drumwerk zorgen voor een intrigerende luisterervaring. Aangezien ze al op de planken hebben gestaan met bands als Hexvessel en Blackwater Holylight én dit jaar te bewonderen zijn op het Engelse Arctangent Festival, denk ik dat het niet lang meer zal duren voordat ze op het Tilburgse Roadburn Festival geboekt zullen worden. Ik kijk er in ieder geval naar uit.

Tijdens The Remains lijkt het alsof we langzaam opstijgen, maar net wanneer het nummer zijn climax lijkt te bereiken, is het alweer afgelopen. Het nummer In Reverse heeft vervolgens weer een wat meer ingetogen karakter, en biedt een mooi rustmoment voor het daaropvolgende Knell Mera. Een nummer dat opent met een ietwat dreigende riff die ook wel op zijn plek was geweest op het meest recente album van Hexvessel. De imponerende zang van Malley pakt je vervolgens wederom bij de lurven en sleurt je mee. Als een psychedelische trip, of een koortsdroom. Deze laat je ook op slotnummers Sanctuary en Deep niet meer los.

Iress presenteert hier een zeer aangenaam album dat bij liefhebbers van shoegaze en andere dromerigheden goed in de smaak zal vallen! Als je op zoek bent naar het forsere zwaarmetalen beukgeweld, ben je hier aan het verkeerder adres. Op de vraag Iress to impress?, zeg ik dus: “yes!”

Score:

80/100

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Iress – Sleep Now, In Reverse

Los Angeles doomgazers Iress have been at it for a while, building up a following the old fashioned way, though a hectic routine of live shows and writing great, epic dirges that echo the gothic atmosphere of Chelsea Wolfe while infusing them with the intricate post-metal roar of Isis. Sleep Now, In Reverse is a new personal best for the group, an album of nuanced devastation and graceful destruction, balancing moments of quiet vulnerability with impenetrable walls of guitar. It’s worth noting that these aren’t merely their best songs, but likewise their prettiest, leaning into the knack for melody that’s set them apart from the get-go and bolstering it with an awe-inspiring physical force.

[SCREAM BLAST REPEAT] Iress – Sleep Now, In Reverse

Iress tease you into a solipsistic dream as soon as Michelle Malley’s introspective vocals and the electric guitars enter after twenty seconds of light bass strumming in opener, ‘Falling’. Words soothe and sever from their meanings like splitting dew drops. The vocal lines are pleasant but tinged with an undefined sorrow. Music like this can be relaxing despite the distorted guitars and intangible chord shapes. An accompanying video showing the slow metamorphosis of a butterfly would be ideal. Everything seems to be in harmony without a conscious effort. Observe how the longing in the lyrics match the mood of the instrumentation: “Always waiting for you to call my name / Always waiting for you / You say you will, you won’t / You push and you pull.”

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Iress is feeding my obsession with shoe-gazy and hazy guitars with evocative vocals that make the whole room shimmer. Sleep Now, In Reverse may seem like an oddball selection, but every now and then heavy can be more of a thick quilt than a jackhammer to the temples. Iress has beautifully heavy moments interspersed with undulating waves of tenderness. Put this on at 3 AM after a Lamb of God concert or something, and you’ll feel what I mean while you chill your badass bones.

[NOIZZE] Iress – Sleep Now, In Reverse | Album Review

After more than a decade mastering the swing of the heavy pendulum Iress build upon unwavering unity, group catharsis and an eagerness to make waves. Never more comfortable in their skin and ready to be welcomed and celebrated into the renewed and feverish shoegaze scene. Fans of Chelsea Wolfe and A.A. Williams should flock, because your new favourite band is on a plate. Be sure to catch them this August as they make a jaunt over to the UK supporting the occultist rockers Hexvessel which includes an unmissable performance at ArcTanGent.

[EARMILK] Iress’s ‘Sleep Now, In Reverse’ is equal parts stimulant and sedative

The most redeeming quality on the album, and moreover of the band, are the vocals of Michelle Malley. They give a chiaroscuro effect to the vast, foreboding landscape that Alex Estrada’s mixing establishes, where individual musical parts feel spread widely apart. Malley’s voice shines like a beacon through the dark. Sinewy track transitions tie some of the songs together and further service the themes of isolation and loss, particularly the muffled talking at the end of “Mercy.”

 
 
 
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