Iress may be a new name on the tongues of music listeners in 2024, but the band’s seen its fair share of storms. The metallic-dreamgaze outfit has been kicking around the greater-LA music scene since the mid-2010s, and has already weathered challenges that nearly dissolved the project.
But Iress persevered and not only conquered the obstacles holding them back, they emerged full of creative vigor more powerful than ever.
Iress’ third LP Sleep Now, In Reverse represents their most emotionally impactful and cathartic album yet. It’s the band realizing the sound they have, and stepping into all of the possibilities of where it can take them.
“I do feel like we all just really let go and went for it and did things [on this album] we've never done before,” frontwoman and guitarist Michelle Malley said. “I feel like we brought some pieces from Flaw and Prey and Solace, and now there's new parts that we're bringing in. It's almost like it's all encompassing to this moment.
“I'm just really proud of it, to be honest.”
Iress formed about 10 years ago when Malley and her former cohort, Alex Moreno, bonded over their mutual love for bands like Alice in Chains, Nirvana and Hole. They combined shoegaze, doom metal and more with those influences, and together with bassist Michael Maldonado and drummer Glenn Chu, they self-released Prey in 2015 and Flaw in 2020.
The latter nearly got shelved by the band due to the pandemic, but the songs proved too good to gather dust. Tracks like “Nest” and “Wolves” crashed over listeners like the California surf, drowning them with swells of fuzzed out guitars and Malley’s smoky, emotional voice. She’s been described in the LA music scene as the “Adele of Doom.”
But while Flaw trickled through the crevices of the underground, Iress itself nearly dissolved when the world stopped. They couldn’t play shows, Moreno left the band, and Malley wasn’t sure she’d be able to continue.
Eventually, the opportunity to return to the stage finally came and Malley opted to get things going on her own. She recruited a longtime friend and guitarist, Graham Walker, to play with her. It unknowingly sparked Iress’ resurgence.
“We kind of had to start over,” she said of the time after Flaw. “I remember, shows weren't really happening and I was like, ‘I'm just gonna play a solo show by myself and see what happens,’ and I was really nervous. That's when I asked Graham to play with me. That was a big turning point, because we felt this huge chemistry on stage together. That's when we started writing and that's when he joined.”
With Walker in the fold – and Maldonado and Chu still on board – the songs started flowing almost instantly. Before they knew it they had four songs they couldn’t wait to release, which became their EP Solace, released last year by Dune Altar.
“We put out Solace so fast,” Malley said. “We were just so excited and the dynamic of the band has just been amazing. We can't stop writing. Our sound is just getting better and better. I'm really, really excited for Sleep Now, In Reverse. It was so magical to create and I'm just itching to release it honestly.”
The natural connection between the members has allowed all of them to prosper, and has turbo-charged their ability to reach deep into the well of their emotions. Malley mentions their support as a reason she was able to dig in deep and compose lyrics she would not have been able to in the past, and why Sleep Now has a connected feel through all of its 10 songs.
“This album in general has a common theme of kind of a tug of war,” she said. “You're in something and you're breaking free, but you're [also] kind of stuck. You like it, but you kind of don't like it. You need to leave.
“I feel like maybe I was holding back a little bit in some parts of my writing process in the past. My bandmates really embraced my personal lyrics instead of trying to morph them into something else. I feel like I got to just really express myself.”
In addition to the chemistry within the band, Iress recorded both Solace and Sleep Now with Alex Estrada at The Pale Moon Ranch in California, which Malley described as instrumental to both finding their comfort zone and perfecting their sound.
“Alex has been a friend of ours for years and years,” she said. “He knows our band, he's seen us live, I've recorded songs for him on his albums so he knows my voice really well. He knows where to push me. He knows when I can do it better, and when I'm tired. He just knows us really well and our sound. He's heard all of our albums, and I just love how he makes our guitars sound.
“Overall it's just the chemistry that we have with him. I can't imagine at this point working with anyone else. You can tell that he cares about our band and our music. He wants us to do well, and he wants us to sound the best we can. And you can hear that, you know?”
That much is evident with just one spin of the new record. It’s a massive step forward for the band, both in what they offering to the world and how they went from being an independent band a few years ago to touring the UK in 2024.
Between the new creative invigoration surrounding the songs, as well as their most soul-baring lyrics to date, Iress present an album that will grab listeners by their emotions. That’s the hope the band have as they release Sleep Now, In Reverse to the world.
“I hope that it makes you feel something,” Malley said. “I hope it takes you to a place you've never been before. I feel like sitting in silence after [it’s over] is really good, just taking it in. Maybe it inspires you to write a song.”
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Sleep Now, In Reverse by Iress is available everywhere now, via Dune Alter in the US and Church Road Records in the UK/EU.
