It’s outlandish, completely left-field and utterly captivating.īesides its nearly flawless execution, a large part of what makes Ruination so enthralling is the manner in which the band melds immersive atmospherics with out-and-out catchiness. Jaunty jazz fusion basslines underpin exquisite vocal harmonies, and the listener is invited to get drunk on a seemingly infinite supply of hypnotic, dreamlike melodies. Drawing influences from almost every conceivable point on the rock spectrum, Ruination sounds like Jethro Tull smashed a fat tab of acid and went wild with a fuzz pedal.
The word “experimental” is often chucked about casually nowadays-in many cases, anything that doesn’t follow a rigid verse-chorus-verse structure seems to qualify as such-but in the case of K I! it’s entirely appropriate they are true musical innovators. Built around catchy hooks and delicate melodies, the record ebbs, and flows, taking the listener on a cosmic journey. Stylistically, Kairon IRSE! have always been something of a fusion of space rock and shoegaze, however, Ruination heralds a quirkier, more prog rock-like era for the band. For a band who write music of such complexity and magnitude, it seems almost criminally unjust that they’ve not received more recognition in the time they’ve been active the quality of their work eclipses that of many of their better-known and lauded musical peers. Despite having written some damned impressive material over the past six years or so, however, in terms of support, this oddball Finnish four-piece have never amassed much more than a small cult following. Produced by Oranssi Pazuzu frontman Juho Vanhanen, Ruination is Kairon IRSE!’s third full-length LP. Ordinarily I would repudiate this as pretentious guff and refuse to play ball, but since I have no moral qualms about whoring out my grammatical practices in exchange for quality music, for the sake of a band as outrageously impressive as K I!, I’m willing to suppress my inner Grammar Nazi and get on board. And no, before you ask, I didn’t just sneeze and hit the punctuation keys by mistake that’s just how they like their name to be written. Finnish progsters Kairon IRSE! are a band who embrace this mentality emphatically. When a band comes along that laughs defiantly in the face of such convention-opting instead to carve out their own path-it’s only right they’re accorded the recognition they deserve. With the number of untapped creative avenues steadily decreasing with every new album release, many musicians merely end up putting their own spins on pre-established formulas. “Psychedelic chaos” might very well reflect Kairon IRSE!’s methods, but the end product on Polysomn sounds more like interstellar harmony.True originality can be an elusive commodity to come by in the modern music environment. Concise yet overstuffed with acid-laced ear candy, “White Flies” is the album’s most direct application of dopamine to the pleasure centers, a relatively straightforward pop gem that still feels like passing through a portal into another dimension. When Kairon IRSE! dial down the din, they remain delightfully weird and otherworldly, as on the standout “Mir Inoi,” a soft twinkling dirge reminiscent of UK psych-pop outfit Broadcast, with no discernible guitars to be found-just minimal loops of eerie synths.
The band puts hooks front and center on the soaring “Retrograde,” even when backed by what sounds like dozens of guitar tracks. “Psionic Static” zeroes in on the intersection of lo-fi and sci-fi, with a miasmal intro of space-age synths and crackly beats gradually intensifying and opening up the song up into an imposing, wondrous anthem. Polysomn still carries echoes of Kairon IRSE!’s rhythmic past, indebted equally to Pink Floyd’s billowing prog and Can’s motorik moonshake this time around, though, melodies and hooks are strategically placed among a labyrinth of sonic bells and whistles. Their third album Polysomn, tempers the largesse of their first two efforts (2014’s Ujubasajuba and 2017’s Ruination) with approachable art pop whimsy, producing heady, heavy results. Pre-order buy pre-order buy you own this wishlist in wishlist go to album go to track go to album go to trackįew bands overpower the senses quite like Kairon IRSE! The Finnish group, who describe their music as “psychedelic chaos,” practice a distinctive form of kaleidoscopic psych-rock maximalism: a sprawling yet intricate blend of krautrock, stoner rock, and prog, festooned with cosmic jazz saxophone and interdimensional synthesizer.
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