Here is one of those bands you take a chance on with a random gig only to fall in love with them.

I caught Iress playing the Exeter Cavern to promote their album, Sleep Now, In Reverse.

Musically, it’s very post rock, a little bit doom and very much in the territory of A.A. Williams due to the amazing vocals of Michelle Malley.

While Williams voice is powerful and formidable, Malley’s vocals are just as strong but laced with an aching fragility.

In Mercy, the tension of the music is ratcheted up as Malley coos and murmurs about a disintegrating relationship but suddenly there is that cathartic release as she simply roars the word ‘bleed’ – An absolute goosebump raising moment.

Lyrically it’s dark, very dark and you really hope it’s not overtly autobiographical.

“You say you’re really bored, and it hurts to know you really are” (Lovely – Forget Me Not) or “Always waiting for you to call my name, you say you will, you won’t” (Falling).

Another favourite track is Sanctuary where the music is angrier and Malley rages against the world as she sees red

The album ends with an odd track, Deep. Mostly just a guitar picking out individual twanging notes while Malley breathlessly pleads with us to take it easy on her. 

Recorded the songs are more controlled, almost restrained at times whereas live it was a ragged, emotional maelstrom.

I would thoroughly recommend the album and the Solace EP from 2023, both are spectacular listens. 

 Another EP from Cruel Diagonals has arrived - Calcite

Only 4 tracks and 15 minutes but it covers the creation of the earth, it’s destruction by man and it’s collapse until only rock remains. Quite a weighty subject to cover in quarter of an hour.

Opener, Scintillation, is a like a classical piece of work being performed in a cave built on washes of synths whilst the wordless mezzo-soprano voice soars and swoops beautifully over the music.

After that the weirdness really set in. In Disobedience it sounds like someone tuning the oscillator on a large power plant and if you’re listening in headphones, it rumbles and vibrates through your skull.

The last two tracks take it even further into the unknown, Sounds are twisted, stretched and distorted until you’re not really sure if you are still realms of what could be described as music. It seems at this point a long time since the beautiful opening track.

It’s another beguiling by very challenging release from an artist you will either embrace or assiduously avoid