Though Iris once saw themself as a “singer-songwriter girl,” by 2018, they knew they wanted something different. They wanted to play in a rock band, to collaborate, and to build a world. It was soon after that Iris met Alex Harwood at Little Skip’s, located just steps away from Brooklyn DIY institution Silent Barn. Though Iris needed a drummer, they soon discovered that Alex was secretly an incredible guitarist–and their connection formed the basis of a fast-moving songwriting partnership. Before they knew it, they were a band, and played shows all over the city for the next several years. “Our dynamic is brotherly. He’s seen me through growth, through transitioning, and who I’ve become. It’s a familial feeling.”
Recorded over the course of 2020, Place to Land showcases their talents as writers, producers, and players as Iris captures the feelings and stories in their head. Having not had a moment to breathe, Iris and Alex used their downtime to hone their sound and create a collection that gorgeously walks a tightrope of, in their words, “tenderness, darkness, and fun stuff.”
“Phase” opens Iris’s story in media res. “Everything in my life had changed: my housing, my job, my girlfriend dumped me. It was this feeling of all of this ‘me’ in my life being in flux. While I’m singing it, I’m hoping life will give me an easy way to get through to whatever the next thing will be, and to face the challenges that will inevitably happen.” “I’m asking for the easy way out,” Iris sings as Alex’s nimble basslines weave melodic motion all around them, setting the scene for what’s to come.
On “ISO”–short for “in search of” but also isolation–Iris examines their shadow side. “It wrecks me emotionally, no matter what I do. It’s an endless feeling, being in search of self, or another person, or meaning. I became very acquainted with my body and the inner parts of my experience. I had to learn to like myself, and what came with being in transition.” Over gentle acoustics, they “stare in the mirror too long, wish a body would just disappear,” as the unease lingers in their voice.
“We lost a lot of one and two-dimensional relationships, whether they were romantic, or friendships, or whatever. “Voicemail” isn’t about “a hard ghosting,” in Iris’s words, but about a relationship that ended without any closure. Across these songs, Bluish tell the story of not what’s gone, but what’s left: roommates, partners, close (and chosen) family. “Where are you running from? Where have you gone to?” they ask on “See The End” as gnarled electric guitars tear through their delicate arrangement, and “Howl” closes the record with a call–and a gentle sigh–into the world around them.
Place To Land is a statement of purpose, a document of deep friendship, and a collection of mementos both beautiful and heartrending. “My top surgery happened the day I finished the record.” It’s the story of Iris’s journey within themself, told through universal experiences–and a bold announcement of a powerful new voice ready to share what they’ve discovered.
