IRATA - Tower (Album Review)

Release date: May 24th 2019. Label: Small Stone Recordings. Format: CD/DD/Vinyl

Tower – Tracklisting

1.Tower

2.Waking Eye

3.Weightless

4.Innocent Murmur

5.Leviathan

6.Crawl To Corners

7.Golden Tongue

8.Constellations

Members

Jon Case: bass guitar, vocals

Jason Ward: drums, vocals, synths, percussion

Cheryl Manner: guitar

Owen Burd: guitar, vocals, trumpet

Review

Irata finally release their new album Tower after a four year absence. This time Irata feel influenced by bands such as Floor and Torche. As their music has a hard-rocking “Doom-Pop” sensibility whilst carrying on the sludge vibes from their debut album.

Opening song – Tower – is a fast-paced Sludge/Doom/Stoner Metal song with elements of Psychedelic Rock giving Irata a heavier sound. The song is heavy and has a cool progressive sound from start to finish. The song also has a soft Drone based riff being played in the background. The vocals are excellent and have vastly improved from Sweet Loris.

Second song – Waking Eye – is where Irata go for the jugular by merging complex sludge/doom-pop melodies and gorgeous vocals to match. Maybe not as heavy as the opening song. However, Irata start to create a more expansive sound and the quieter moments are quite soulful in places. The Sludge/Stoner Metal guitars are quite ferocious in places but that doesn’t stop Irata switching to a more Ambient/Post-Rock driven sound towards the end of the song. This is one of the best songs on the album.

Irata don’t waste any time in playing the heavy Sludge/Stoner Metal riffs on the third track – Weightless. As they create a more progressive and complex musical environment with both the music and vocals. The lyrics are excellent and quite upbeat in places especially when the singalong choruses appear. Add a few impressive guitar solos along the way and Irata will impress you with the different styles of songs they’ve written for this album.

Fourth song – Innocent Murmur – is a strange song to initially listen to. As this song starts off as a soulful and melodic Pop based affair before this anthemic heavy sludge riff changes the musical landscape for the better. The song does move into Post Rock and Psych Rock territory and it’s good to see the band moving between Doom-Pop melodies and the move violent Sludge/Stoner Metal sounds.

I would love to do a song-by-song review but I will be here all day and I don’t want to spoil everything for the listener. The second half of the album is equally as good as the first half. If not better on certain songs such as: Leviathan, Crawl To Corners and Constellations.

Tower has a sweet natured innocence contained within it’s DNA and a dark violent side for when the heavy Doom/Sludge/Stoner Metal riffs appear. Irata prove both musically and creatively they have come a long way since their debut album as the band have made an almighty leap to greatness with Tower.

There’s no denying that Tower is a thrilling, complex and brilliant album from start to finish. Tower will rank as one of the year’s best albums. That’s how great it is.

Words by Steve Howe

Thanks to Earsplit PR for the promo. Tower will be available to buy on CD/DD/Vinyl via Small Stone Recordings from May 24^th 2019.

Links:

Official | Facebook | BandCamp

Irata - Sweet Loris (Album Review)

Release date: October 09th 2015. Label: Retro Futurist Records. Formats: CD/DD/Vinyl

Sweet Loris – Tracklisting

Lion Slayer

Sweet Loris

Daisy

Chorine

March By Tens

Skin

Teeth Of The Arctic Storm

Band Members:

Jon Case - Bass, vocal

Jason Ward - Drums, vocals, synth

Cheryl Manner - Guitar

Review:

Purveyors of fine smokey riffs and a dense groove, Irata are back with their new album Sweet Loris. Whether you were a fan of their free flowing brand of stoner-esque rock before, you will find plenty of things that you will adore here and if you weren't a fan before, you will be after listening to Sweet Loris.

The band started their musical life off as an instrumental act and it is their loose jam style of making their groove laden rock so free flowing that makes them stand out, the addition of vocals turned them into a fine band and Sweet Loris ups the ante tremendously.

The thundering likes of the title track, March By Tens and Teeth Of a The Arctic Storm are an eager indication of even bigger things to come for Irata and for now we can listen and embrace how good the band sounds.

The thundering guitar of Cheryl Manner enhances the Irata sound here, at times monstrously heavy and others heartbreakingly beautiful while the bass/drums combo of band founders Jonathon Case and Jason Ward create a tribal rhythm that rumbles along perfectly.

The first track released from the album, Lion Slayer is a fine indication of the new streamlined Irata sound. This song is a snaking behemoth of a track that slithers into the listeners consciousness and doesn't let go and the hypnotic groove will be stuck in your head for days.

The rest of the album is no less mesmerising, with the likes of the aforementioned March By Tens and Skin coming across as the very definition of spellbinding and relentless rock fuelled energy joined together with a deeply melodic twist.

Irata are touring the U.S with kindred spirits and labelmates Kylesa upon the albums release and fans of the band in this country should pray that this tour will come over to the U.K and if there's any justice in the world, it will.

Words by Gavin Brown

Thanks to Earsplit PR for the promo. Sweet Loris will be available to buy on CD/DD from Retro Futurist Records from October 09^th 2015. Vinyl will be released at a later date.

Links:

Official | Facebook