Iris - Hydra
Iris - Hydra (Diffusion Records)
Released officially on March 28th 2008 (but available before then exclusively on their US tour with Seabound), Iris brings their next musical offering in an EP of sorts. Hydra gives us more than just music, outside of the three brand new songs and 10 remixes is a DVD of “behind the scenes” footage.
The three new songs on this EP are picking up where Wrath left off, continuing the evolution of the Synthpop/Rock hybrid that Iris has become. The blend of electronic and guitars has really blossomed for this group since Awakening, and I think they’ve managed to stay true to their synthpop roots in the process. Of the three new tracks “Stop Breaking Your Own Heart” stood out to me the most, it has an ascending quality to it that rises through the verses, peaks at the chorus and then drops back down to do it again, much like a sawtooth wave. The remixes on this EP run the gamut of club floor tracks to trance/house and chillout. Andrew Sega’s mix of “Wait Move On” has a feeling of being touched by BT, Mesh delivers the real floor pounding remix of “Lands of Fire”, and Dan Kearley ties up the CD with a chillout grove of “Delivered One”. The other remixes fill out the EP quite nicely and make for a good listen, the remix portion of this EP flows extremely well from start to finish.
The DVD is 30 minutes of interview footage, cam footage from various tours, and a few live snippets as well. The interviews cover the more recent history of Iris as a band from Awakening up through Wrath. Reagan, Andrew, and Brian Pearson recount their touring experiences which are interspersed with footage taken by the band. You get to follow Iris as they experience and talk about Germany, Sweden, Poland and Mexico. I really enjoyed watching this DVD and think it’s a great addition to this EP.
