Labels: Nefarious Industries
Formats: Vinyl/CD/Digital
Release Date: 26 Sep 2025
Tracklist:
1. Idiot Plot
2. Toothache in Prison
3. Eating All of the Apple
4. The Finer Things in Life
5. Lifetime Achievement Award
6. The Great Wasp of Reluctance
7. Abraxas Casino
8. My Life in Bins
9. Love is a Windsock
10. Wedding, Berlin
A couple of months ago I wrote about the return of Yorkshire's Trudger after nine years. In that write-up I also hinted at the return of another band that have been silent for too long. It just so happens that said band is also from Yorkshire. Math/noise-rock band Irk are from Leeds and almost seven years after their last full-length Recipes From The Bible, they returned in September with their newest album The Seeing House, released via Nefarious Industries.
Irk's trio J.S. Gordon (vocalist), Ed Snell (bassist) and Matthew Deamer (drummer) are joined on this album by guests Jamie Chambers (strings arrangement), Jenn Chubb (cello/gang vocals), Jack Evans (guitar), Stewart Ramsay and Kerry Ramsay (gang vocals).
There’s a glut of great new mathcore/math-rock bursting through at the moment, most of which is coming from the US; however, the UK has a proud tradition of musical weirdness too and having Irk back on the scene is nothing short of amazing, honestly! Kicking off with ‘Idiot Plot’, Irk’s noisy/sassy math-rock approach gives much more than it’s tempo suggests. The percussion/bass provides a solid base for the vocals that are delivered in a truly British rock/punk style (a cross between belligerence and showbiz). From the slightly laidback tempo of the album opener to the more frenetic and experimental ‘Toothache in Prison’, which allows the instrumentation more room to show through. It’s urgency obvious but tempered by a mid-section where bass is king.
The Seeing House is a mixed bag when it comes to songs and indeed song lengths, as is demonstrated by ‘Eating All of the Apple’. It’s a slow-build with authoritative bass and sinister, almost spoken-word vocals. I’m trying to recall “similar” sounding bands and all I can come with as a comparison (for what it’s worth) are Part Chimp, Idylls and Beecher maybe! Basically, I’m trying to say that I really have no clue. ‘The Finer Things in Life’ is that sweet spot between order and chaos without going over the edge. There’s an element of melody from the vocals here that gives a semblance of order before things get properly heavy, sludgy and weird.
From a song that doesn’t pass three minutes to one that smashes the seven minute mark, ‘Lifetime Achievement Award’ is a stark mix of Irk’s math-rock, excellent cello playing from Jenn Chubb and string arrangement by Jamie Chambers. The addition of the strings provide an extra element of unease that’s been missing so far. After such an enjoyably mammoth song, you’re pulled into the album’s second half by ‘The Great Wasp of Reluctance’. As somebody who hates wasps, their reluctance to die plays on my mind constantly and the noise that Irk create here does nothing to ease it despite the addition of gang vocals from Stewart Ramsay, Kerry Ramsay and Jenn Chubb.
Given that the mathcore tag is assigned to Irk, it’s only correct that one or two of their songs don’t surpass two minutes. ‘Abraxas Casino’ is the shortest song on the album and honestly; it’s the closest to the sub-genre they’ll probably ever get. ‘My Life in Bins’ shows how comfortable and loose Irk have become on this album. It’s familiar in sound yet the added guitar from Jack Evans provides a layer that’s conspicuous by it’s absence on the rest of the record.
Penultimate song ‘Love is a Windsock’ is another glorious slab of noise-rock that goes way beyond that sub-genre. It’s a song that’s filled with a driving tempo and instrumental approach. Closing out the album with ‘Wedding, Berlin’, Irk go all out with the math-rock time-signatures and general oddness. It’s a lot more stripped back initially and is filled with unnerving atmosphere before it grows in intensity later on. Alongside the trio’s delivery, the gang vocals of Stewart Ramsey, Kerry Ramsey and Jenn Chubb are employed one final time to help round things out in terrifying style.
If this is Irk’s way of re-announcing themselves as a math/noise-rock force to be reckoned with, then they’ve totally achieved it! Again, it’s a great time to be a fan of the UK’s heavy music community, irrelevant of whether your’’re on the metal or punk side. Here’s hoping though that Irk waits less than seven years before releasing more music.
You can stream and purchase The Seeing House on all formats from Irk below:-
For those in the US, etc; you can order the album from Nefarious Industries here:-
https://www.nefariousindustries.com/collections/irk-the-seeing-house
Irk - https://www.facebook.com/irkband
Nefarious Industries - https://www.facebook.com/NefariousIndustries
