Girih - Ikigai

Girih Open "The Door" to Gusty Post-Rock/Metal (Early Track Stream)


New Hampshire’s Girih craft post-metal that seems to be always airborne, with even its heaviest moments propelled skyward through interwoven synths and pristine instrumentation preserving its floaty, swirling atmosphere. On their new album Ikigai, drawing its name from a Japanese term for a sense of purpose, the band seem to take this elevation as their own heartfelt cause, shepherding listeners through eight dreamy tracks that reveal a darker, heavier side as the album progresses. We’re streaming “The Door” below, which plays a key part in developing Ikigai‘s mystical, contemplative atmosphere.

On “The Door,” ambience is key: an initial swell of strings and gentle guitar creates a gentle calm. A slow tom rhythm joins it, creating a reassuring pattern for mournful strings and low, menacing rumbles to play out against. The louder, more rock-focused parts of Girih’s sound take their time developing, slowly spreading out to encircle the rest of the instrumentation like an eventual truth taking hold. By the time crunching rhythm guitar and busier drums spill out like stormclouds, the track feels primed to fully transition into heavy post-rock — and it does, though the sweeping cushion of sound it sits on remains almost tangibly consistent.

Other parts of Ikigai delve deeper into the band’s rock roots and everything else their sound has to offer, but sitting partway through the album, “The Door” champions Girih’s mastery of atmosphere and holds an interesting position: it feels like a passageway from the explosive first two songs into a surreal new world, and its lush sounds describe that world in exquisite detail.

Ikigai releases October 14th via Dunk!Records and A Thousand Arms Records – digital pre-orders available on Bandcamp.