Iran is the type of band that has always been a bit of a mystery. The band put out two albums Iran & The Moon Boys which both were very cool at times, but mostly experimental and hard to fully grasp for me. The band consists of Kyp Malone (TV On The Radio), Peter Hoffman (The Mendoza Line), Aaron Romanello (Grand Mal) and Aaron Aites, but is primarily the handiwork of Aites, who handles all of the songwriting duties, and has been the man responsible for what is now an all-star lineup.

Fast forward to 2009, some seven years since The Moon Boys, when the new Iran album shows up in my mailbox, and I casually put it on a day or two later to hear what new sounds and experiments the boys have cooked up in the lab for this go-round. What I found though, is nothing short of an excellent overall record. Dissolver still has the sounds and eccentricities that the previous records had, (see “Digital Clock & Phone” for proof) but seems to really be more focused on lyrics, and just feel more fleshed out overall than anything I have heard from Iran.

Of course, it doesn’t hurt to have another TVOTR member helping with production in Dave Sitek, who seems to bring some of the focus to the recordings, while not sacrificing everything that made Iran edgy, which, as artists, is right where they want to be.

Songs like “I Can See The Future”, “Airport ‘79′”, & “Buddy” feel a bit disconnected at first, but after a couple more listens, it just clicks, and in a big way. The shifts in musical sound and direction nothing short of sharp but feel like a ride in a luxury car. This is not something that is achieved easily and is a testament to the talent of the parts that make up Iran and this album.

Dissolver is out February 3rd from the Narnack label and should not be ignored.

Iran – I Can See The Future

This entry was posted on Tuesday, January 27th, 2009 at 12:26 pm and is filed under MP3's, New Music, This Just In. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.