ninehertz

Welcome to tripped out, star-voyaging South American heavy psych of the highest order; welcome to Iah, who have mastered this sound over successive excellent albums, getting better and more assured at every step, despite starting from a high position in the first place.

The first two minutes of the album are pure incidental space noise, they could come from a NASA documentary backing track, or more directly from the echoes of distant galaxies winking if we want to be a little more poetic. Argentina has produced a steady flow of stellar heavy stoner psychedelic music over the years, and other than the originators of Los Natas, Iah have been the standout from afar; at times they feel like zoned out jams, others become so gentle they teeter into post-rock; opener Kutno covers all aspects of Iah across its ten minutes including a break out of the trance stoner riffing surge towards its end.

if there's evolution in Iah's works beyond increased confidence and comfort in their own ability, it's in pushing further the atmosphere building dynamic; take Yaldabaoth, it is meaningfully constructed so the repetition becomes hallucinatory, the steady heavy psych beat unwavering, the whole something to sit back and simply absorb. Sentado en el borde de una pregunta goes a touch heavier than anywhere else on the album, welcomely providing some contrast, a ballast to guard against the threat of floating away.

The band released V late 2023, but is now getting a gatefold splatter vinyl release through the unwaveringly supportive stoner scene heroes at Kozmik Artifactz, and it's worthy of that; great to see Iah are getting international recognition. It offers something tangible to hold for those who've known of Iah's talents. For those new, then there's five albums out there to wade into and lose yourself in.