One of January’s freshest math rock offerings landed just a couple weeks ago with Irihi, a trio hailing from Vietnam’s Ho Chi Minh City that somehow, despite the thousands of miles between their region and St. Louis for instance, released one of midwest emo friendly bangers of 2025.
The band just signed to Dev Records to put out their single “Waiting,” which hits an emotional sweet spot between explicit math rock and earnest emo. The instrumentation is well studied and impeccably executed, but what gives Irihi an almost unfair advantage is their vocalist – she’s got a great range and dynamic that really helps the song pop through the headphones and into your subconscious.
Check out the official lyric video below featuring art from quiann FDS.
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Everyone certainly shines a little bit on this track – there’s a little bit of everything. There’s some nifty harmonics that go by really fast, some off-time, unexpected drum and guitar hits, and surprisingly melodic bass lines. Even the vocals alternate between more of a soulful vibrato in the verses and highly resonant belts for the chorus which of course makes sense, but there’s just something intentional about the mix that seems to put everything in it’s perfect place.
“Waiting” takes familiar elements to create something thoughtful, current, and mature that easily convinces listeners to pay attention without being too flashy. Although this is the band’s first single, the band also shares at least one member of Windrunner and / or GAI 荄, so we’re excited to see what’s in store when we finally hear the rest of Irihi’s debut. We’ll keep you posted!
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