Album Review: IAH, III
The instrumentalist, Córdoba, Argentina-based three-piece of guitarist Mauricio Condon, bassist Juan Pablo Lucco Borlera and drummer José Landín continue and impressive streak under the collective banner of IAH with III, their third overall release and second full-length behind 2018’s II (review here) and their 2017 self-titled EP (review here). They very clearly not only have an idea of what they’re going for in terms of their sound, but an awareness of what has worked for them leading up to this stage in their career, in terms both of aesthetic and practical considerations. III is easily the trio’s most expansive offering to-date. In its digital version, released on Sept. 11, III comprises six tracks and runs what might almost be a near-unmanageable 55 minutes were it not managed so fluidly, and finds the band continuing a collaboration sharing production duties with Mario Carnerero at 440 Estudio in Córdoba, who engineered and mixed (Magnus Lindberg mastered).
This partnership would seem to have grown more familiar over time, as III not only progresses from where IAH were two years ago in terms of patience and exploratory reach, but brings forward the varied dynamic of their sound in more expansive ways. Beginning with the 11-minute “Uaset,” III unfolds with a summary of things to come, and in so doing brings together the swath of ground IAH proceed to cover, a slow emerging of fading in effects-guitar and a shhh of cymbal wash setting an immediately atmospheric backdrop for whatever will follow. It is nearly 90 seconds into the song before the first guitar line begins, and not until 1:51 that Landín‘s drums join it, and that spaciousness established at the outset is crucial to how the entire album that follows plays out. III sees IAH dig further into heavy post-rock even than did II, as Condon‘s guitar floats over the drums and bass across the early going of “Uaset,” but the progressive metal elements that made themselves felt last time out come through as well, and the moments of solidification — all three players coming together around a single progression for however long it might be — are all the more effective for the dream-state from which they seem to take hold.
“Uaset” brings its impact in its midsection and rolls out a deeply weighted nod and chug, but ultimately recedes again, and though some residual energy is retained, it is the float that wins out in the end, carrying into the more direct tonality and riff of “Raju,” which is the shortest piece on III at 6:25 and, for a time at least, seems to reverse the structure of the opener. ‘Quiet, loud, quiet’ becomes ‘loud, quiet, loud,’ but a fourth movement is added to the mix that renews the airy sound of “Uaset” in a way that “Raju” hasn’t yet tapped. This reinforces the notion of the two songs representing a companion-type structure, and indeed, the rest of III bears that out in symmetrical fashion. What would be side A is two tracks, likewise what would be sides B and C; each one bringing together a longer cut and a shorter one as “Uaset” and “Raju” have done, with “Cilene” (10:38) and “Ennui” (8:25) proceeding from the silence at the end of “Raju” and building outward from what the opening salvo has done in terms of melody and rhythm.
Starting III‘s centerpiece movement, “Cilene” makes a case for being the most outwardly heavy of the three longer pieces — though “Lo Que Hoy es Evidente” (11:19) still has something to say about it — and has a flow to mirror that at the record’s very beginning, if one that holds more tension in the drums. The speedier motion and turn-of-phrase in the guitar circa 3:45 would seem to call out Colour Haze‘s heavy psychedelia filtered through the full-toned precision of Elder, and should meet with no complaints from fans of either, but IAH nestle into harder-edged chug before “Cilene” is done, not quite turning to doom, but riding a slower groove to its logical dissolution before going back to ground, rebuilding, and dissipating again in the last three and half minutes of the song. They do this gracefully, unhurried, and with time left over for a few seconds of contemplative silence before “Ennui” begins, its insistent first-half drum pattern and sharper guitar/bass groove tapping into Pelican/Russian Circles territory as it moves forward, but smoothing out in its second half to a middle ground topped with a solo that’s anything but staid as the title might suggest and soon bursts forward again, only to pull back once more.
Given the departure from one-word titles for the closing pair of the aforementioned “Lo Que Hoy es Evidente” and “Una Vez Fue Imaginario” (7:07), one has to wonder if they’re not to be considered bonus tracks for the digital edition of the album or if pressing a physical version has yet to be worked out. I don’t know, but the change seems purposeful one way or the other. “Lo Que Hoy es Evidente” is the longest song on III and builds up in still-linear fashion more smoothly than “Uaset” such that it’s not until the guitar and bass drop out momentarily and fire back at the six-minute mark that the real push of the 11-minute song seems to be revealed. As an apex, it is particularly hard hitting, but maintains an edge of psychedelic wash as well, which eases the transition into the comedown at the finish, which seems to wink again at Colour Haze, and moves into the near-silence that begins “Una Vez Fue Imaginario” to close out the offering. It is another full build, but a fitting one for the end, as it shifts into a post-metallic sphere and features some howling sounds in the background that, indeed, might just be vocals, if it’s not my own imagination getting the best of me.
One way or the other, they close on one of their most crushing stomps, and finish cold, leaving the silence to do the work of residual ambience, which it does. One would be remiss not to note that III was tracked in June 2020, during lockdown for the COVID-19 pandemic, and studio pictures of IAH show them wearing masks while recording. Given some of the intimacy of the quiet stretches and the manner in which the more forceful side of the band seems to feed off them, it seems fair to wonder if maybe the global situation fed into the mood of the studio time at all. I don’t know that it did, but it’s hard to imagine it wouldn’t, at least in some way. The dynamic of changing volumes isn’t necessarily new for IAH, but they do bring these shifts with an overarching melancholic sensibility, perhaps not void of hope, but looking at it from a distance. And even if that interpretation is completely inaccurate, that these pieces would evoke the question stands as testament to III‘s power to move the listener. That also is something IAH have had since their beginnings just a few years ago, but never have they sounded more resonant.
Yeah, these guys are great. I hope after this
zombie movie is over, that IAH tour the US.
Please come to California, Perro, Kimo and
I will be there to support you. Buena suerte.