Premiere: Iress, ‘Crown of Losers’

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Iress (Photo by Ammo Photography)
Iress (Photo by Ammo Photography)

Iress have been making noise — really loud noise — around Los Angeles for several years, and in 2015 the quartet, then known as IRIS, released its “Prey” EP. On the mountainous L.A. indie-rock landscape, the band (singer-guitarist Michelle Malley, guitarist Alex Moreno, bassist Michael Maldonado and drummer Glenn Chu) are the molten lava. Guitars wail and weep and rumble, drums thunder and Malley’s vocals grieve like a forlorn outsider empowered by her own solitude. The new single “Crown of Losers” continues some of the themes explored on their doomy debut. It’s “an anthem for the misunderstood, the loners, the weirdos,” Malley says. “A celebration of being uncool, of caring too much, of not giving a fuck.” Care enough to wear earplugs when you see them, and look for Iress’ second EP, Soaked,” coming later this year PLAG Records, an offshoot of the local Play Like a Girl collective.

||| Stream: “Crown of Losers”

||| Live: Iress perform March 13 at the Hi Hat, supporting Spare Parts for Broken Hearts and The Bomb. Tickets.