As dreamy as Sleep Now, In Reverse may sound, I'd highly recommend not sleeping on this one.

It's inevitable that, from time to time, some will want to take a break from the extreme end of metal and zone into a more relaxing state; one of the most satisfying sub-genres that helps us do this is shoegaze. However, there's also various metallic offshoots of shoegaze where our minds can wander and reflect (blackgaze for instance). This now brings me to the band in question, a US foursome named Iress that formed in 2014, who merge doom and shoegaze elements together, unsurprisingly resulting in a sound categorized as doomgaze.

At the forefront of blackgaze and doomgaze, there's an exceptionally talented group of female vocalists, with Katherine Shepherd (Sylvaine), Suvi Savikko (Shedfromthebody), and Kiki GaNun (BleakHeart) to name a few; also within this group is Michelle Malley. You could say that she's the beating heart of Iress, as her hauntingly soothing, angelic vocals really help complement the dreamy tranquil soundscapes we associate with this genre, but let's not forget the fact that this is a band effort, and joining her are Alex Moreno (guitars), Michael Maldonado (bass), and Glenn Chu (drums). This is the band's third full-length offering Sleep Now, In Reverse, which follows a reasonably impressive debut Prey (2015), followed by an arguably more impressive sophomore in 2020's Flaw.

Despite Iress being participants in one of the darkest and gloomiest genres there is, with themes often reflecting on loss of hope and desperation, Sleep Now, In Reverse is instead a rather uplifting and embracing experience. Music-wise, the album builds on the band's previous record Flaw, released amidst the global pandemic 4 years prior, but throughout its 10 tracks there are powerful and memorable moments that outshine anything the band has released before. "Falling Under" sets the mood in swing, and straightaway Michelle Malley's voice soars into action; once again, her raw emotional performance remains second-to-none throughout, and it's just as impressive instrumentally. The rhythm section flows through the song, as the bass complements every powerful and decisive drum beat, and even though there's no fancy technicality or breakneck riffs to be heard, the guitar work really draws the emotion in through heavy, slow-to-mid-tempo melancholic riffs.

The opening track flows into the following one, "Ever Under", via an atmospheric bridge, and each song begins with a similar inter-flowing passage, so the course of the album doesn't in any way get disrupted. The rhythm throughout is mostly repetitive, often driving you ever deeper into an emotional hypnotic state, although there are moments in which the tempo slightly increases, as soft melancholic instrumentation occasionally unleashes heavy doom breaks.

Sleep Now, In Reverse could prove to be one of the best releases in the doom/shoegaze category this year; the flow throughout and in between each song allows for such a smooth and engaging listen. Instrumentally it takes you to places of self-reflection that can offer be both an uplifting and at times sorrowful experience, but the vocals remain the key element that helps bring the incredible raw emotion to life, making this one of the most captivating releases in both doom and shoegaze this year. So, I once again recommended you don't sleep on Sleep Now, In Reverse.

Review Summary: nxt lvl doomgaze

Let’s be real for a moment: to those familiar with Iress’ music, Sleep Now, In Reverse is highly unsurprising. For the past few years, the Californian outfit has been trading in doomgaze of a quality their peers could only dream of achieving, and this new album is no exception. It’s a deeply gorgeous if intimidating project, solidifying the band’s status as one of the most criminally overlooked ones active right now.

Building upon 2020’s Flaw and last year’s all too brief Solace, this new record presents ten more expansive glimpses into Iress’ world. It’s the kind of album where almost every song could work as an opening or closing track, with several jaw-dropping moments sprinkled all throughout. Cuts like “Mercy” follow a traditional formula of carefully working towards a grand, explosive climax, but the way it explores several textures prior to such expected payoffs feels consistently fresh. The understated “Lovely (Forget Me Not)’ adopts a driving rhythm that persists throughout its many meanderings, culminating in a hauntingly layered sonic implosion that feels like a true disintegration. Similarly, “The Remains” embodies classic Iress-isms with its gothic-tinged, sludgy gaze, before erupting into an unexpected and delightfully heavy breakdown - a moment that makes perfect sense in spite of its sudden appearance. The band’s ability to persistently mesmerise and deliver using the exact same ingredients is a true testament to their songwriting: everything is engaging, unique, and altogether captivating. Interestingly enough, album closer “Deep” might feel least like an album closer of all songs present here, but earns its place in the context of overwhelming beauty: it’s a brief, pensive meditation on death that is almost scarily quiet.

It’s impossible to talk about Iress without mentioning Michelle Malley’s vocal performance. As always, her voice is captivating: strained without sounding uneasy, a perfect fit for the gloomy, heavy tones all around. Every ambiguous, haunting word sounds like an assurance of total eclipse, elevating the band’s eruptions straight into the darkness of outer space. Perhaps for the first time, though, the surrounding soundscape is matching Malley’s timbre in effectiveness. All throughout Sleep Now, In Reverse, quiet parts feel tender and eerie, while heavier moments appear truly all-encompassing. “Ever Under” is a brilliant showcase of Iress’ enthralling guitar tones, while “Leviathan (The Fog)” exemplifies their ability to effortlessly conjure an ethereal atmosphere. The latter features some of the most wonderfully restrained instrumentation, and carefully navigates different, unique textures to achieve truly enthralling results.

While all the individual elements of Sleep Now, In Reverse are excellent, it is Iress’ ability to bring it all together that makes this such a deeply excellent record. Its ten tracks are so much more than merely ten tracks: they epitomise an entrancing experience. Even though the band operate within some of the gloomiest genres around, this album is shockingly colourful. It explores tales of despair through excellent songwriting, tops everything off with production capable of taking expansive and restrained moments alike to the next level, and leaves before you know it. If Flaw were an ocean, Sleep Now, In Reverse embodies a mountain - beautiful if overwhelming from afar, yet lively and intricate upon closer inspection. Clouds loom, erupt and destroy, and we’re lucky to be mere spectators.

The LA post-metal band explores more complex songwriting and conflicting emotions on their fourth full-length, out now via Dune Altar/Church Road.

Since they first formed more than a decade ago in LA, Iress have always aimed for a kind of maximalist transcendence. The group’s early recordings (released under the name Iris) found them crafting atmospherically dense and climactically massive post-metal dirges that earned them comparisons to like-minded West Coast gloom merchants such as Chelsea Wolfe and Emma Ruth Rundle. With fourth album Sleep Now, in Reverse, that sense of ambition and scale only grows as the band maintain their commitment to soaring doomgaze anthems, while easing back into hazier shades of nuance and giving vocalist Michelle Malley a subtler canvas on which to showcase her powerful vocal presence.

In fact, there’s an intimacy to some of this material that reflects a more personal approach, like on hushed closing dirge “Deep,” which Malley says she wrote late at night on an acoustic guitar. Even moments like this erupt into thunderous grandeur, and it’s in those juxtapositions where Iress thrive, providing an experience as emotionally powerful as it is musically explosive. Meanwhile the group also continues to explore new textures and even loftier heights, as on the triumphant and cinematic “The Remains,” which Malley said “opened up a new portal for Iress.”

With Sleep Now, in Reverse out today via Dune Altar and Church Road Records, stream it below and read what Malley had to say about each of the tracks on the album.

1. “Falling”

“Falling” is an emotional song. It was the first single for a reason. It came together very naturally. The original demo actually isn’t too far off from the final version. The lyrics depict longing, conflicting emotions, a battle of the heart and mind.

2. “Ever Under”

This song was probably one of the first demos created after Graham [Walker] joined the band. “Ever Under” was constantly evolving from beginning to end. We experimented a lot, and once we got into the studio, the pieces all fell into place beautifully. The drums really made the song extra unique and special.

3. “Mercy”

A collective band favorite. It was one of the most collaborative of the bunch. Glenn [Chu] and Graham worked together on this one, creating a super heavy and dark platform for me to just let go and unleash a different side of myself and my vocals. I got stoned at home while listening to the demo and I was immediately inspired. The melodies and the vibe just all came together at that moment.

4. “Leviathan (The Fog)”

Very different from the rest of the album, with its wall of synth, guitar, and vocal layers. We debated whether we should make it heavier or keep it soft, but ultimately decided to keep it soft. Graham started playing this song at band rehearsal and I fell in love. I told him to keep playing as I began to sing to it and we recorded a demo right then and there. The progression of this song was a magical experience.

5. Lovely (Forget Me Not)”

This was another early demo that started with that main fuzz guitar. This one took a backset for a bit before coming up with the bridge, which kicked the song up a notch. “Lovely” definitely has hints of past Iress with some ’90s grunge elements. Although a bit brighter and more upbeat than the rest, the lyrics and vocals still resonate a darkness which is a common thread throughout the record.

6. “The Remains”

“The Remains” began as a riff presented to us years ago by Glenn that never got around to being written. When the band all got their hands in it this time around, it morphed into something bigger than we ever imagined. It opened up a new portal for Iress, which is now bleeding into our other songs. Undeniably a band favorite to perform live.

7. “In Reverse”

This song was written similarly as “Ricochet” from [last year’s Solace EP]. I came up with a catchy verse and rhythm, which set the tone. The chorus was actually one of those happy accidents that happened during the demoing process. The guys had a lot of fun creating a unique, mathy bridge to complete the song which, again, is something Iress hasn’t really done before. “In Reverse” pretty much captures all the different pieces of this album in one song.

8. “Knell Mera”

“Knell Mera” has a cool story. The verses had been in the Iress archives for years. We had another song that was appearing to not make the cut for this record. Then Glenn, out of nowhere, spliced them together and that’s how “Knell Mera” was born. I love how weird and creepy it is.

9. “Sanctuary”

This was a dream come true for me, personally. It was a song I’d written that never made the cut. I imagined it as one long crescendo starting quietly, morphing into chaos. The guys really made it their own, and with our powers combined it became “Sanctuary.” Another happy accident occurred with this one, too—Graham added that coda at the end, which really made it special.

10. “Deep”

I wrote this at 3 a.m. on my acoustic guitar, and it just spilled out of me. We recorded it in the control room somewhat live. It was a very personal experience, and also the last song we recorded, so you can feel the emotion within this song. It was then fitting to also make it the last song on the record.

Iress has developed with time, constantly experimenting with new sound components while highlighting Michelle Malley's vocals, which are equal parts strong and delicate. The band's new full length, Sleep Now, In Reverse, is out through Dune Altar, and all of its preceding singles showed off how Iress' artistry continues to grow, with their consistently heavy and emotional sound playing a major role.

Lovely (Forget Me Not), the single which coincides with the album's release, undoubtedly contains aspects from nineties alternative and grunge, together with the familiar sound of Iress. The vocals and lyrics of the track, while a little more upbeat and more vibrant than what one would usually expect from the band, still manage to easily convey a sense of gloom which runs throughout the new album's entirety.

Lovely (Forget Me Not) is the latest single from heavy shoegaze / doom / dreampop experimenters Iress, part of the band's new album, Sleep Now, In Reverse, released via Dune Altar. The new song finds the band turning toward a slightly more upbeat style, while staying true to the usual sentimentality of their songwriting.

On this latest example from their new album, Iress don't lose the pervasive melancholy that defines the entire release. The song's lyrics and vocal delivery maintain a haunting quality, ensuring the eloquence of the album's somber mood.

Iress delivers what they do best once more, a blend of moody atmosphere and powerful sounds that creates a stunning collision of shades of light and dark.

Gli Iress sono un interessante quartetto californiano guidato da Michelle Malley, cantante dotata di una voce perfetta per le trame crepuscolari intessute dalla band. I Nostri si muovono leggiadri tra shoegaze, rallentamenti atmosferici doom (doomgaze quindi se vogliamo), dream pop e crescendo cinematici. Le note nel press-kit li avvicinano a Chelsea Wolfe, Emma Ruth Rundle e King Woman ma noi preferiamo tirare in ballo Slow Crush, E-L-R, Outlander, Holy Fawn, (DOLCH) e A.A. Williams, riteniamo che le affinità musicali con questi progetti siano maggiori e più a fuoco.

L’immagine evocata dalla descrizione presente nel promo è però perfetta: ascoltando Sleep Now, In Reverse si ha la sensazione di essere di fronte alla romantica “terrible beauty“, ad una marea che avanza, si ingrossa e sta per infrangersi addosso alle pareti di una scogliera, una forza devastante, annichilente ma bellissima e magnetica. La Malley ha una voce tendenzialmente setosa e soffusa che di colpo sa irrobustirsi e diventare potente e coinvolgente, di pari passo con la musica degli Iress che attaccano ai fianchi e mai direttamente, erodono piano le basi e poi colpiscono per distruggere. L’operato sonico dei californiani è però assai piacevole e mesmerizzante, ed è incredibile constatare come non perda un decimo della propria forza nonostante il disco sia composto da dieci tracce, che sulla carta potrebbero costituire uno scoglio non da poco. E invece gli Iress, fluidi e apparentemente impalpabili, affrontano ogni canzone con un misto di pesante/leggero, con un fare sporco e ruvido quasi grunge/alternative anni Novanta, pop nella sua fruibilità apparente, ma che nasconde strati sfaccettati e multiformi.

Non ce la sentiamo di citare uno o più brani nello specifico, l’intera opera dei Nostri merita la vostra completa attenzione dall’inizio alla fine, candidandosi ad una sorpresa per questo 2024, che sa anche di una conferma se chi legge questo scritto è già venuto in contatto con la musica dei californiani. Sleep Now, In Reverse è un ascolto e un acquisto da fare a occhi chiusi, che eleva gli Iress a nome ormai di spicco nella scena doomgaze che, a discapito di un’etichetta mai del tutto riconosciuta, sta vantando un sempre più crescente numero di fan.

Iress - Sleep Now, In Reverse (Church Road Records)

Classed as 'dream metal', Iress were formed in 2010 and the pair terror with beauty, imagine the end of the world coming almost in slow motion unfolding cinematically in front of you, then Iress are the soundtrack.

I suppose you could call it shoegaze but there's lots more too it than that. Iress could only be from L.A, they safe steeped in grandeur but beneath that there's an introspection, the moments of heaviness just stayed from erupting too much by a quiet reserve.

Bassist Michael Maldonado, drummer Glenn Chu, and guitarist Graham Walker, have evolved and melded their instrumental brilliance over the last 14 years, perfecting their emotionally resonant 'doomgaze' to the what you hear on Sleep Now, In Reverse. They build the atmosphere, slow burning and dramatic on The Remains, a steady, airy drumbeat that opens itself in to some doom crushing doom.

On a track such as Ever Under, the vocals of Michelle Malley are smokey and beautifully evocative, on tracks like Mercy, she presents a blissful, close quarters whispering before belting towards the cathartic end.

Leviathan (The Fog) continues with the whispered vocal style as In Reverse is beautiful, fully showing why Malley is referred to as the "Adele of Doom", soulful and impassioned she's got one of the best voices I've heard in years, literally causing chills even on the heavier moments such as Knell Mera as well as the dreamy Sanctuary.

For fans of bands such as Holy Fawn, King Woman, Sylvaine, Slow Crush, Iress' new album is stunning. 9/10

Formed in Los Angeles in 2010, Iress have just released their excellent new album Sleep Now, In Reverse (the band’s first release on Church Road records) and its glorious combination of ethereal shoegaze and heavier elements results in a sublime listening experience. To celebrate the release of the album, we caught up with vocalist Michelle Malley to hear all about Sleep Now, In Reverse, the bands forthcoming debut UK tour, and the past, present and future of Iress.

E&D: The new Iress album, Sleep Now, In Reverse is out now. How excited are you to be to be getting out there with this album?

Michelle: We are very, very, excited – that’s an understatement!

E&D: What were the biggest influences on the sound of this record?

Michelle: We were listening to a lot of Beach House and Cocteau Twins, and we are also big fans of Deafheaven. We had a mix of heavy and also dreamy influences. So it was like two worlds meeting. I definitely think that that this album is about the heavy and the soft intertwining.

E&D: Is that mixture what you wanted to explore even further with this album?

Michelle: I think so. I think we went a little heavier on certain parts – like more metal influences – with certain guitar parts that we wrote, and also we added a lot of synths and layers to the songs; so it was a little bit more extreme on each side this time.

E&D: Will you that explore that sound even more in the future?

Michelle: I think so. The metal influences came because with Glenn, our drummer, it was the first time with him writing on the record too, and he has some heavy metal influences; so does Graham, our guitarist. We’ve just been experimenting more with this new line-up, and it’s been really cool.

E&D: Does it feel more established with this new line-up?

Michelle: Yeah, Graham entered the picture two years ago and then Glenn one year ago, and yeah, it does feel more comfortable – and really inspired. It feels really, really good.

E&D: You mentioned the heavier sound there as well. Do you find that the shoegaze sound in your music, combined with your vocals, makes the music of Iress more ethereal?

Michelle: Yeah, I think so. I don’t ever want to lose the shoegaze. I like that. It’s hard to put us in a genre – we have different elements from different genres.

E&D: Did you mean to have a more of a cinematic sound this time around as well?

Michelle: Yeah. Do you hear that in it?

E&D: Yeah, very much so. Have you been happy with how all the new music has been received?

Michelle: Yeah, I think our second single got the most love, which surprised me, but it was exciting. I feel like people are digging it.

E&D: Was it a difficult task selecting singles that you feel are representative of the album and its sound?

Michelle: Yes, I mean, there were some that were obvious, but there was a song that I wanted to release as a single, but we decided about how fast the song starts, the vocals, and how long it is, you have to think about all that stuff sometimes. So, yeah, it is kind of hard. I definitely wanted to pick a couple others, but we had to, ultimately, choose the best options.

E&D: You are coming to the UK for a tour in August. How excited are you to be getting over here and playing live for us?

Michelle: We’re so excited. I just started to really break down the tour, and started to get some things in order, because we’ve been waiting to plan and we can’t plan too far in advance. So it’s getting me really excited. I’ve been reaching out to people about staying places and I’m really excited. None of us has ever been [to the UK], so it’s going to be a really cool experience.

E&D: What are you looking forward to whilst you are over here?

Michelle: I’m just excited to experience a new place. Someone told me that there’s a bar with Black Sabbath painted on the outside of it – I want to go there! I heard there’s a lot of cool metal bars. We have a day off in London, which I’m really excited about, so we’ll explore there. I’m just excited for everything. Honestly, I’m excited to meet new people and hang out with the bands. We’re also gonna play ArcTanGent, so that’ll be a really fun day for sure.

E&D: Are you going to be playing further afield in Europe as well, or is it just strictly the UK this time?

Michelle: We were gonna do more European dates, but we are just sticking with UK this time. But we are planning to come back and do more for sure.

E&D: Was planning the tour a challenging task?

Michelle: Luckily, we have a booking agent, Tyler. He has been a dream come true, and he’s doing all the hard stuff; he booked all the shows for us. So now I’m just trying to figure out, like, a van, a driver and all that stuff. it actually hasn’t been that difficult, knock on wood.

E&D: Who are some of your favourite ever UK bands?

Michelle: Oh my gosh, that’s hard; the Cocteau Twins definitely.

E&D: How are things working out with Church Road records, and how did you hook up with the label?

Michelle: It’s going great. I love Justine, and they’ve been very, very helpful. She told us that she had seen us around throughout the pandemic and stuff – and we had kind of been in touch – and it just kind of happened organically in the last year. It’s been wonderful. I’m excited to meet and hang out with her too.

E&D: You’re playing a few shows before the UK run, including with Blackwater Holylight, and you’ve got a record release party for Sleep Now, In Reverse: are you looking forward to those?

Michelle: Oh my gosh, yes! It’s going to be really fun. It’s also our guitarist, Graham’s birthday for the Blackwater Holylight show, so we’re going to have a whole big shindig; and it’ll be fun to play the new songs. We’re gonna play all the singles, and the release show is gonna be really fun too. We’re playing at a venue we love to play at – The Echo – and that’ll be like our launch party, because we’re gonna leave less than a week after that for the UK.

E&D: Have you thought about playing the new album in full at all?

Michelle: We have thought about doing that. I feel like it would need to be like a whole production. I don’t know if we’re going to do that for the release, but maybe we’ll do it when we get back, because the album is an hour long, and I have these ideas of getting some friends to do some harmonies with me. I want to make it like a whole thing, but I don’t think we’re gonna do that before the tour – but maybe after

E&D: Is the visual aspect and expression of Iress on stage important to you, as well as the music?

Michelle: Oh for sure, we’re getting better and better with that. We just got some new lights that we want to experiment with. I feel like that’s gonna be really huge with our stage performance. I feel like we’re still figuring that stuff out, but we have big visions. All that stuff costs money, so it takes time to dial it in, but we do have a lot of ideas for it, for sure.

E&D: How do you feel the songs from Sleep Now, In Reverse will go over in a live environment?

Michelle: I think it’s going to be really cool. We’re excited to play like some of the heavier ones. Like I said, there’s some of that and I did so many harmonies, and we sense that we really want to play them in full. I just have all these ideas, because there’s so many like cool parts that I don’t want to leave out, but sometimes you just got to play it raw and just skip all that stuff. I think it’s going to be interpreted well, I think it’s going to be going to be a cool vibe, for sure.

E&D: What have been some of your favourite Iress live shows so far?

Michelle: It’s hard because we played some really cool venues in the past, but I feel like I want to focus on the shows we played now with Graham. One that sticks out, actually was during the pandemic; the band was on a bit of a hiatus, just because one of our members had left. So we were kind of in limbo, and I was itching to play a show. I’ve known Graham for years and years, but we reconnected, and I asked him to play this solo show with me; I played it with him and I was overwhelmed with the amount of people that showed up. It was packed! We played the Silver Lake lounge in LA and that really inspired me to revamp Iress. I’m like, we gotta get back together. We gotta get the band together; and then Graham joined, and things just took off from there. So I feel like that was a really memorable show, like a restart of Iress.

E&D: Your voice is very powerful. Who are your greatest influences as a vocalist?

Michelle: Oh, wow. I feel like it stretches way back. When I was younger, I used to say I wanted to be a female Chris Cornell – I love him. It’s hard because I feel like I sing and play heavy music, but I also have this side of me that is influenced by pop artists. I don’t know if you’ve heard but I’ve been dubbed the Adele of Doom!

E&D: How did that feel?

Michelle: I feel like that’s such a big compliment. I grew up listening to The Carpenters, Carole King and stuff like that, so that’s an influence too.

E&D: What is next for Iress, and have you had any thoughts about new music at all?

Michelle: I really want to do an American tour, maybe this winter or spring of next year. We are talking about recording some things to release. I won’t give too much away, but we are talking about recording and touring – we’re not going to stop or slow down for sure!

E&D: What have been some of the highlights of Iress so far, and what do you still want to achieve in the future with the band?

Michelle: I think signing with Church Road and getting this tour has been a huge highlight of our career, because we’ve never been overseas at all. I feel like that’s the biggest highlight so far, and obviously, when we play big venues – like we played the Glass House and the Constellation Room [in California].This tour though, it’s kind of hard to beat. We’re really, really excited and grateful to Church Road for helping us. Also this record: we’re really proud of it. I feel like it’s our best release since we’ve been a band, so hopefully it just gets better and better from here.

Sleep Now, In Reverse is released on July 26 via Church Road Records in the UK and Dune Altar records in the US. It can be purchased and downloaded here on Bandcamp

Iress once again blesses us with another dose of beautiful sonic depression on their new album Sleep Now, In Reverse (Church Road Records). The Los Angeles-based band weaves between genres drifting between darker ominous tones ranging from emotionally heavy to lighter breezy speculation. This is displayed in “Ever Under” which takes you soaring into the sunset from the haunted places in the Hollywood Hills. Dynamically once again everything is perfect. Michelle Malley’s vocals lurk around the corner of grunge-influenced riffage recalling bands like Curve or Lush rather than the doomy zip codes they once occupied. This album finds Malley’s vocals sitting up front in the mix as more of a focal point than the more atmospheric texture they once created.

This is not to say that if you are a fan of their previous work, this is going to sound like the band is selling out or pandering for radio play. In fact, by making the vocals more of a focal point, they are phrased in a more articulated fashion so that the powerful nature of the content adds to the song’s intensity. The dreamier haze to “Mercy” 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 ventures 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,” though the eighties influences end there, since if you had to pin a decade to them it would be the nineties, 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 bonus here is 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. The overall vibe of the album is less of an oppressive doom mood, though there are more intentionally metal moments one of them can be heard on “Knell Mera” though they take you on a journey with impressive dynamic breadth. Things take a different turn for the last two songs that work off more of a brooding tension, like a distant storm inching closer to the storm as the dusk settles, with her voice serving as the rain that falls to create the dynamic release. This album feels like a mature step forward for the band as songwriters.

Buy the album here:

https://weareiress.bandcamp.com/album/sleep-now-in-reverse

9 / 10

WIL CIFER

Der Soundtrack zur Sommerromanze 2024: Mit „Sleep Now, In Reverse“ erschaffen IRESS schwül-sinnliche Doomgaze-Träume.

Es gibt Nächte, in denen die rot glühende Sonne wie in Zeitlupe untergeht und den orangefarbene Himmel wie eine Verheißung anmutet. Wenn die schwere Luft steht, am Rande der Dunkelheit, dann vermischt sich Traum mit Realität. In den Betten wird gewälzt, auf der Suche nach etwas Kühle, während es mit der Erotik nicht so weit her ist. Und doch gibt es um die Zeit von Canis Major eine Sinnlichkeit die lockt, mit Eros in Lauerstellung. All das gießen IRESS in ihr Album „Sleep Now, In Reverse“. Die kalifornische Doomgaze-Band hat schon auf ihrer letztjährigen EP „Solace“ eine gute Figur gemacht, also was soll an dem dritten Album der Band schiefgehen?

Michelle Malleys entwaffnende Stimme steht im Zentrum der Musik: „Sleep Now, In Reverse“ lässt hin und wieder vergessen, dass IRESS eine volle Band ist.

IRESS liegen mit ihren sinnlich-atmosphärischen Songs irgendwo zwischen KING WOMAN und HOLY FAWN, mit einem Hauch „White Pony“-DEFTONES und SLOWDIVE. Ganz klar, hier gibt es große Gefühle, und das, obwohl sich IRESS in Sachen Pathos zurückhalten. Sängerin Michelle Malley muss mit ihrer gehauchten, rauchigen Stimme ihre Lyrics nur hinaussingen und schon mit dem Opener „Falling“ mag man ihr verfallen. Bei dieser Stimme gerät die Band fast in Vergessenheit, doch Gitarrist Graham Walker, der mal wavige und mal breitwandige Riffs spielt, mal subtile Melodien aus sich fließen lässt und hin und wieder nur kleine Akzente setzt, kreiert zusammen mit der Rhythmuseinheit die Basis der Songs.

Auch wenn „Sleep Now, In Reverse“ zehn Songs lang vor sich hin schwelgt, unterscheiden sich die einzelnen Stücke voneinander. Da gibt es die nahezu metallische, bisweilen dramatische Heaviness in „The Remains“ und „Knell Mara“, die der Band etwas weniger gut steht als die schwebende Melancholie von „Leviathan (The Fog)“ uns „In Reverse“. Und doch funktionieren beide Pole von IRESS, gerade wenn sie wie in „Ever Under“ und „The Remains aufeinander treffen. So schafft die Formation es, dass „Sleep Now, In Reverse“ in sich geschlossen klingt und subtil abwechslungsreich ist. IRESS funktionieren als Quartett, setzen keine großen Soundeffekte ein, jedes der Bandmitglieder hat im Soundbild seinen Platz. Und genau hier ist die Erfahrung der seit 2010 aktiven Band spürbar.

IRESS balancieren zwischen Verträumtheit und Heaviness: „Sleep Now, In Reverse“ ist gerade dann am besten, wenn beide Pole verbunden werden.

„Sleep Now, In Reverse“ ist gleichermaßen heavy und gefühlvoll, kann aber nicht immer zupacken. Zwischendurch gibt es da einige Momente, in denen sich die Musik ein wenig zieht, hin und wieder wirken die Instrumentalisten zudem etwas unterspannt – siehe „Mercy“ – und könnten etwas zwingender agieren. Und doch klimaxen IRESS mit dem unfassbar schönen „Sanctuary“, das sich zu einem kleinen Epos mausert und das Album sehr versöhnlich enden lässt. Am Ende der 50 Minuten ist von Abkühlung keine Spur – durch IRESS fühlt sich die Nacht noch etwas schwüler an. Der Soundtrack zur Sommerromanze? Bestimmt. Ob aus dieser Affäre eine Langzeitbeziehung wird? Die Chancen stehen nicht schlecht.

Wertung: 7,5 von 10 Pfeile Armors