IKARI

IKARI formed at the start of 2017 after Vocalist & Guitarists Kris Renji and Tristan Dales along with Bass player Chris Young had been jamming & writing songs for several months. They then recruited Chris Gardner on Drums in Feb 2017. The quartet quickly burst onto the scene with their first single ‘Ghosts’ followed by a debut show at King Tut's following shortly after.

With a habit of wanting to do things in a more unconventional way, the group decided to set sights on releasing their debut album - 'Shapes & Sounds' as their first full release. Drawing influences from bands such as Deftones, Thrice, Fightstar & Funeral for a Friend the group are very confident in the 'Post Hardcore' stance their music takes & feel strongly about their passion for discussing the importance of mental health through their music.

It has been a while since I have had the pleasure to listen to a band like IKARI and the album itself was quite a surprise as so often the ‘Post Hardcore’ genre can be all about the growl, power and aggression of the music with little attention paid to the overall creativity of the songs and the factors that inspire the music and lyrics. This set of songs displays a musical integrity that a lot of bands strive to achieve but sometimes fall short of with real meaning behind the words and a clear direction of emotion and skilled musicianship which had me hooked from the first track.

From the off the album has a sound that forms a heady mix of Funeral For a Friend and Fightstar and with that in mind the songs ‘Chapters’ and ‘No Longer Human’, provide a storming opener to proceedings, the lyrics are powerfully delivered by Kris and the guitars chug along with the right amount of heavy edginess, melody and crunching breakdowns in equal measures. ‘Back To Life’ reminds me in parts of Bullet For My Valentine’s ‘Bittersweet Memories’ whether intentional or not it makes for a ripping power ballad and for me provides another influence in the music.

The end result of this release is not just limited to the label of ‘Post Hardcore’ it offers much more in respect of the emotion delivered throughout each track with the mixture of upbeat tracks that grab you and take you along for the ride coupled with more melodious and melancholic tracks such as ‘Anchor’ and in particular ‘Ocean Waves’ which is a soberly thoughtful song with some heartfelt sincere lyricism that outlines the need for support from one another, the video that accompanies the track is also well worth a viewing.

The album harks back to a time of when Funeral For a Friend were riding high but with possibly an even more melodic sensibility and a modern sound, with clean vocals but still retaining some of the essential scream and edge along with a metal influence and heavy riffage aplenty. It’s like mashing together FFAF’s ‘Casually Dressed and Deep In Conversation’ and ‘Tales Don’t Tell Themselves’ to make an eclectic piece of musical artistry for the present day.

I should also throw in the potential sound of Biffy Clyro in there as well, for the Englishman in me hearing the Scottish lilt in the accent of course.

A great debut from IKARI and a must for fans of the genre and good music in general! You can catch them on their upcoming dates and they are playing a hometown show with the guys from Tenement on the 11th May at The Icebox Arts and Music Centre, well worth getting down there for that one!

‘Shapes and Sounds’
Track listing:
1. End of the Fucking World
2. Chapters
3. No Longer Human
4. Back To Life
5. Your Name
6. If I Close My Eyes
7. Anchor
8. Ocean Waves
9. Red Tides and Skylines
10. Monolith
11. Ocean Waves Pt.2
12. Our Last Dance

The top tracks: ‘Chapters’, ‘No Longer Human’, ‘Your Name’, ‘Ocean Waves’
You can purchase the debut album from IKARI – ‘Shapes and Sounds - from https://weareikari.com/

IKARI are:
Kris Renji – Vocals, Guitar
Tristan Dales – Vocals, Guitar
Chris Young – Bass, Backing Vocals
Chris Gardner – Drums and Percussion

Home Town:
Glasgow
Facebook: /weareikari
Twitter: @weareIKARI
Instagram: @weareikari

Upcoming shows:
April 26th – Werra Foxma and Midnight Breakfast Club presents
26th April at 19:00 BST – Bathgate – Midnight Breakfast Club

May 11th – Supporting Tenements – May Tour
11th May at 19:00 CST – Glasgow – The Ice Box Arts and Music Centre