Such is the incredibly self‑consuming world of modern music that even at its fringes, one is invariably drawn into a game of Spot The Influence. That remains true here, but Kairon; IRSE! are in no way guilty of a multi-genre cut’n’paste job. Ruination is a dazzling exercise in cross-pollination, but conceived and executed in such a way that it brims with originality. At their core, these are psychedelic rock excursions, imbued with old school prog sensibilities, but also mindful of more timely musical developments.
Opening epics Sinister Waters I and II cram an insane amount of ideas into their combined 25 minutes, veering from a barrage of Crimson-tinged trippiness to bursts of wailing sax and spin-on-a-pinhead dynamics that frequently give the impression that if these Finnish eccentrics are on drugs, they’re nothing like the drugs we get in this country. When the album makes a jolting about-turn for the shimmering shoegaze shuffle of Llullaillaco, and then another, for Starik’s propulsive storm of psych rock hiss’n’fizz, the wide-eyed wonder at the heart of this band’s creative process becomes clear: Ruination is a joyous revelling in the multifarious madness of music.
