Ironic Encounter formed in early 2014 when brothers Jordan and Damien were joined by two friends with the idea of creating an all-acoustic band with the focus on the songs. The brothers has previously played together in an Alt/Rock band Sepia Daze. This radical change of cutting their hair and putting away the electric guitars may have seemed odd at the time, however with Ironic Encounter they have really stumbled upon something.
The band have just released their debut EP in January 2015. It is made up of 6 self-written songs which concentrate on their own struggles within life. The setup is not ground breaking by any means, it really just goes back to basics; two acoustic guitars, an acoustic bass and a drum kit. The EP was mainly recorded locally with the help of local firm Gigs & Rigs on quite a small budget.
Kicking off with “Cave In” which starts with a delicate, infectious guitar loop and some gentle rhythm just before Jordan’s passionate vocals join. On “Way Through” you can feel the pain being delivered through the power of song, it is decidedly dark. “Voices” lifts things up a little with more infectious guitar parts and more well delivered, layered vocals. “Barefoot Blindman” and “Minds” drop back into the darkness for more pain and suffering, along with streams of light coming through the metaphoric clouds. The EP ends on a high with one of the band’s best songs. “Relax” is all about the frustration of sitting on a bus with nothing to do. The lyric just rolls around in your head “I’m trying to relax, but I can’t sit still for more than 30 seconds”.
It is clear from this debut there is a lot of collective talent. I feel though there is a little too much darkness here and unless they want to paint their walls black and start a new Goth revival, the band need to bring some more positive uplifting elements into their songwriting and music. Ian Curtis and Robert Smith both made their name from writing dark but uplifting songs, but even within their darkness their songs have some positive moments. The EP represents just a small part of what this band are capable of as there has been huge improvements in all areas from the start. I’m sure this is just the tip of the iceberg and there is much more to come from them.
Ironic Encounter are
Charlie Findlay – Lead Guitar & Vocals
Max Birmingham- Bass, Guitar & Vocals
Jordan Ayriss – Lead Vocals, Guitar & Bass
Damien Ayriss – Drums
Track Listing
Cave In
Way Through
Voices
Barefoot Blindman
Minds
Relax
Video
Links
https://www.facebook.com/ironicencounter
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCFaQekPmx5A_bZYXTVmsRGQ
Contact: ironicencounteruk@gmail.com
Words & Pictures by Dave Chinery (Chinners).
