Prog has something of a reputation for requiring concerted effort to digest. As the album progresses, however, new layers brim to the surface and shape the listening experience. Despite clocking in at a combined 26 minutes in length, openers “Sinister Waters” parts I and II, for example, feature plenty to keep audiences with even the shortest of attention spans fully engaged and entertained. 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. True originality can be an elusive commodity to come by in the modern music environment.
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