iRis.EXE was a very out-of-nowhere find for me. I don't remember how or where I found her music, but the moment I did, she suddenly popped up in a lot more places than I thought. First, the fromjoy guest spot on their self-titled, and then being added as a feature a few days after The Acacia Strain's Failure Will Follow was released. Sampling a few of her existing tracks, it seemed really interesting and promising, but I've yet to spin her debut and only album. I did very much enjoy the 3-song mercykiller EP though, and sanctuary is by far my favourite. Even though the song is a cover of a Kingdom Hearts song, it's so different from the original track and I think the spin that she put on the track has allowed it to stand on its own.
I cannot pinpoint exactly what it is about the song, but it has an oddly nostalgic feel to it. I think it can be largely attributed to my early love for EDM and electronic music, but there's some aspect of it that seems reminiscent of late 2000s and early 2010s pop as well. I'm not sure either where she stands on the crossroads between electronic music and heavy music, but it cannot be denied that there is an alternative influence buzzing about her songs.
The main electronic synth melody is the main attraction of the song. It's encompasses a good chunk of the nostalgia, but it also a stellar melody being channeled into some very awesome sounding sonic textures. It also gets played on a piano at the very beginning on the fade in and later on, in the background of the bridge, and it sounds hauntingly beautiful.
I love the vocal work on this song. She has a great singing voice that fits the style she's going for, and I have to commend how great the vocal chopping is. All the intentional vocal distortion and sample chops remind me a bit of the EDM sound of the early 2010s and the dubstep era at that point. There's also a moment two minutes in which I absolutely love, it's just the way the instrumental drops out while the vocals keep going that scratches a very particular itch for me.
The soundscapes that iRis.EXE sculpts are super intricate and simply jawdropping to experience and take in. Electronic music and alternative music have a common desire for intensity, but iRis.EXE's experience and involvement in particularly heavy projects gives her an edge in designing sounds that excel at beautiful intensity and elegant complexity. In some ways, she reminds me a little bit of Skrillex, both in their influences and how their music sounds.
Even though I didn't know it was a cover when I first found this song (I don't play Kingdom Hearts, unfortunately), my impression of it has not much changed since. I'm very interested to listen to more of iRis.EXE's work, what she has in store for the future and who her collaborative nature will reach out to next. I'm honestly quite intrigued by her work so far, so I'm definitely keeping an eye on what she's going to release next.
Rating: 3.5/5