ISIS - Peace In Bedlam CD

The debut album from this Dundee trio opens with just chiming electric guitar in the background and the female lead from vocalist Zara – a voice of which you immediately take notice as there's not only a sense of airy purity to it, but there's a strength that you inherently feel as well as hear, aware right from the start that this is a vocalist you're going to enjoy hearing. Almost immediately, the band come in on this blitz of buzz-saw guitar riffing in the background as the drums lurch forward and the bass becomes the lead instrument, as the song surges ahead on this electric wave as those vocals ring out with distinction. The song itself features verse, chorus, hook, an almost sixties-sounding guitar break and it all flows towards a finale where the pace accelerates as the band turn from indie-pop to roaring punk-pop with an almost folky flavour, courtesy of that immensely strong voice. “Changes” also begins with The Voice, this time a strong performance of a ballad over gently strummed acoustic guitar, as the rhythm section crunches in, only to turn the song into this kind of arms-aloft, waving-in-the-air anthemic ballad that's kind of “singer-songwriter AOR” if such a thing exists – if it doesn't, then this band have just invented it, on what is a truly mesmerising song.
“Come Undone” starts with gently rippling guitar as the strong purity of The Voice comes in with more urgency, this time singing a song of personal lyrical strength that's got a soaring hook to it. The percussion clicks in and then the riffing guitar, crunchy drums and pounding bass enter as the rhythm takes up a strident march and the vocal is positively spit out with angst, anguish and passion, the singer clearly feeling every word of the lyrically rich song deep inside her heart. The song takes off on its repeated hooks and choruses, taking you with it, on what is a wonderful mix of dynamics, crunchy riffs and rhythms plus towering vocal strength. “Crazy Love” has an almost bluesy feel to it, the sleazy menace of a vocal delivering the verses on top of a river of riffing buzz-saw guitar as the drums lurch forward, the bass throbs and then the whole band lift off like a rocket as the song flies upwards, sailing effortlessly into another great chorus, once more the lyrics deeply personal and engaging, delivered with a vocal that comes to life with a vengeance. It's a cyclical song as it drops to the verses then flies upwards for the chorus.
“Final Stand” is the real deal as far as anthems go, a call to arms, a call to those who would join the fight and a breathtaking sea of a verse with a tidal wave of a hook that alternates the impassioned verses with a tidal wave of a chorus, taking you along in its towering waves of delight, the band rolling along as the lead and overdubbed vocals reveal this astounding vocal force and soaring chorus to which you inevitably are drawn to join and ride alongside. The wall-of-sound production adds to the power of the song. “Follow On”, “Over And Out” and “Rain” are three songs where the whole essence of the band's songwriting is distilled into short bursts of songs between two and three minutes each that are giant examples of almost total verse-as-chorus songs with hooks that ensnare you and get under your skin to deliriously excellent effect. The band thunders along on a sea of dynamics and crunch, while the vocals just fly out of the speakers to jaw-dropping effect, the bass hammering out as the drums drive it all forward and the rhythm guitar provides the depth and riffing strength.
In between these, “Lost Regrets” is a real ballad, another flag-waver, only this time truly delicate, dealing once more with an aspect of relationships (as so many of Zara's songs are about), as the cohesive gentility of the song, is delivered by The Voice with total heartfelt emotion. “Over And Out” bounces and hammers out as two minutes of purely addictive writing and arranging truly take you over as you are taken along for the ride on a journey through a memorable chorus that refuses to let go, in many ways the idea of something like vintage early seventies Status Quo taken to the bare essentials of what makes it tick, supplied by a modern day indie band with a female vocalist who could hammer her male counterparts into smithereens. “Rain” is a lurching anthem delivered with this enormously strong, emotive vocal that blazes from the player with the force of a hurricane in slow motion as the cyclical chorus dives and soars before the lurching beast of a band roar into life on a raging mid-section as that infectious chorus returns and the song erupts to a final stand that is one awesome gem of a song, just one among many.
The album ends with “Too Little Too Late” that serves as a complete and dynamically superb contrast with the intensity of “Rain” as a powerful album finishes on a happy, bright, bouncy note with a song that announces its departure with a smile knowing that you're going to miss it – and the album – when it's finally gone, the feel of the subject being echoed in what it provides to the listener in terms of the way you see the song in the same way the singer sees it, but for different reasons.
Then it's gone – a deliciously intense slice of indie-pop with a titanium rhythm section and a steel-strength vocal which delivers a clutch of observational, relationship-dominated songs where the choruses and hooks are so dominant, you don't know which song grabs you the most, not helped by the fact that practically the whole lot are swimming around in your head long after the album's gone.

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