Hidden Shoal finds hidden gem
Apparently Iretsu recorded The Moon and Stars Remain in the Morning Sky around three years ago, but struggled to find the financial backing to release it. If this is the case then this quartet from Portland, Oregon has provided a timely reminder of the dearth of fantastic music that is going unnoticed. It is almost frightening to think of all the wonderful music that we are missing because of ‘superficial’ factors like money.
Thankfully, Hidden Shoal Recordings are on our side and have seen fit to release a record that bears all the hallmarks of our favourite avant-rockers. Yet curiously, Iretsu retain their own identity throughout this record--an identity that enables them to sound like no other band on this planet.
The opener “Bad Secretary” starts innocently enough with a Broken Social Scene style banjo introduction, but within minutes Iretsu have turned this song inside out. Firstly, with a Gallic influenced accordion and cello arrangement and then into a driving bass a drum jam, coloured with anthemic male/female chants. Just imagine Arcade Fire, and then turn the invention levels up by about 100%.
The infectious funky rhythm and intricate guitar lines of “Super Market” recall something along the lines of The Talking Heads, but the beautiful string arrangements that are unleashed give this track a whole new life.
Each track on The Moon... is different and such eclecticism shouldn’t be sniffed at. It's one of the many factors that makes this record so appealing. The coiling guitar interplay of “Led Bat” reminds of Moore and Ranaldo of Sonic Youth circa “Washing Machine”, but just when you think you have Iretsu pegged, they are off on another tangent, this time mixing mournful strings with euphoric chanting.
“Lead into Gold Drone”, as the title suggests, is different again, stripping things down somewhat, coming across like a vast dark soundscape of sinister drones peppered with whispered voices. Strangely alluring, the spaghetti western guitar work here is executed with a degree of perfection, that it only serves to make you love this band even more.
I could go on, the majority of tracks here are excellent, from the theatrical sing-along stomp of “Higher and Higher” to the driving angular pop of “The Shore”. But this would defeat the purpose of this record, because it is just begging to be discovered by each individual listener.
Only the self-indulgent “Wet in the Rain” is a let-down and perhaps decreases the score a tad. But such lapses can be forgiven as the rest of The Moon... is wonderful. Hidden Shoal has unearthed a gem from the masses of dirt and has seemingly saved this record from the annals of the lost classic. I do not use the word classic lightly, but Iretsu deserve it for their sheer originality and invention. It would have been a crying shame had this record been known to only a select few, but Hidden Shoal have put paid to that. This record is a must, not only for fans of the bands mentioned in this review, but for any self-respecting music fan.
| Reviewer: Michael Henaghan Added: November 12th 2007 |
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