Album Review: I Hear Sirens – Acheron (Post. Recordings/Dunk!Records)

USA (Utah) based post rock band, I Hear Sirens return with their latest full length offering titled Acheron, due for release on the 23rd of August via Post. Recordings in the US and Dunk! Records in Europe.

I Hear Sirens are an instrumental band formed in 2005 by founding members Daved Harris and David Qualls releasing their first full album, Beyond The Sea, Beneath The Sky, in 2009. The band has evolved over time, carving their niche in the post-rock landscape with their signature ambient post-rock sound. I Hear Sirens are one of few post-rock bands that emerged at the outset of what would become the modern era of the genre that are still active today. Their first release was in 2007 with their self-titled EP making them really a pioneering band within the Post-Rock genre.

The new album, Acheron, sees I Hear Sirens continue to grow and evolve as they dive into darker and heavier sonic territories than their previous works. Inspired by horror films, the album seeks to evoke the intense emotions and atmospheres characteristic of the genre. The album title comes from Acherontia Atropos, the Death’s-head Hawkmoth. In Greek mythology Acheron was the god of the underworld river of lost souls.

 I Hear Sirens is Daved Harris on guitar and keys, David Qualls on drums, samples and drum programming, Wes Johnson on guitar and keys and Adrienne Robson on bass. Acheron also gets support from guest musicians with Eric Olofson adding the piano intro on the track, 011, Trevor Smith adding additional bass on Pale Rider and Sarita Ford with additional bass on Watcher / Prey.

Acheron is produced By Wes Johnson and I Hear Sirens and engineered By Wes Johnson at Archive Recordings with additional engineering by Matt Mascarenas. It was mixed and mastered by Chris Common and comes with gorgeous album art by Enrique Morales.

Acheron brings is 8 new tracks to get lost in and a run time of around 40 minutes starting off with the song Watcher/Prey. It’s a fine example of where the band are right now so if you aren’t massively familiar with them, this will bed you in nicely. A patient intro layering melancholic melody and occasional drums builds you in before it seems to be fading out, but instead explodes into emotive energy. The drums hit hard, the same melancholic line carries the song but with an amplified touch. More guitar and subtle use of keys add further depth to a song that really captures you from the off and generates a ton of atmosphere.

Atmosphere is certainly something the band deliver in spades as we move into the title track, Acheron. I love the twinkling melody it starts off with, and again, the patient and cautious approach to how they build the track up. The cymbal heavy drums add a touch of drama to the start and the harmonising guitars, carrying the melody and adding layers of lead guitars over the driving melody works wonders. It’s a very emotional track that really does pull on you, as it moves into calmer waters, then back up again. Pale Rider keeps the atmosphere thick and captivating, again using the band’s trademark haunting melody to hypnotise you and bring you into their frame of mind.

Gentle melody, impactful drumming, harmonising guitars all lull you in, so that when it drops into a more forceful sound, the impact is huge. It’s emotionally weighty music, the sort you want to just close your eyes for and let it all wash over you. Requiem of course continues the style – I don’t think there will be any huge stylistic surprises on Acheron. The echoing guitar melody with effects/samples in the background again creates a captivating and almost ethereal atmosphere that is so easy to get lost in. The guitars are gorgeous, really strumming out and landing in your ears with crystal clarity and sitting them on a slightly sinister sounding bed of effects works well.

011 takes haunting and beautiful to another level. The piano intro is subtle and stunning, really pouring out emotion with each key press. I Hear Sirens transition nicely from that intro into a powerful verse that carries a decent amount of intensity and a slightly more raw edge. We transition again from that into a cleaner, melodic bridge with some really nicely placed drum hits. As it starts to build back up, you can’t help but feel fully engaged and it’s closing passages, back with the guitars turned up and the drums really impressing is probably the most straightforward blast of heaviness on Acheron so far.

Nocturnal delivers a dark and moody vibe with it’s echoing drums and sinister, deep melody. The drums move the song through phases nicely in a track that is moody and quite reflective of the “nocturnal” title conjuring up images of dark nights and faded vision. In Absentia sees I Hear Sirens continue to deliver powerful songs that speak without words in layered and deep music that transitions cleanly between sections that are melancholic and sections that bring a heavier crunch with powerful drums. Always running with a driving melody, they just build off of that melody in different ways here and keep your interest held all the way throughout.

Atropos is the final track on the album and no surprises for guessing that it is another stunning slab of music with a patient and building melody in the intro. The melody grows as the seconds tick passed and the drums grow in stature. Atropos really cleverly doesn’t drop off at any point, instead from the first note to the last it just continues to grow, and grow, adding more and more layers, more melody and more feeling until you reach bursting point and then bang, it stops and we are done. That’s very cleverly written and really does leave a lasting impression that just makes you want to instantly hit play and start it again.

Acheron is a wonderful album that showcases a band of immense talent and song writing skill. Instrumental albums can sometimes suffer from bleed, with the lack of vocals sometimes meaning songs begin to sound like each other but I Hear Sirens avoid that here ensuring every song, despite the similarities in style, has something in it, or has been written in a way that they all have a unique identity. It’s hugely atmospheric and very captivating to listen to – almost hypnotising at times as you find yourself focusing in on the different melodies and just being on the journey with them. Songs are over before you know it, and the album flies by.

I Hear Sirens have delivered a masterclass in writing atmospheric and emotive music here with Acheron.

I Hear Sirens Links

Website – Bandcamp – YouTube – Instagram – Facebook – Post. Recordings – Dunk!Records