Listen To Reb Fountain's New Album 'IRIS'

Reb Fountain would have been one of the last live acts I saw before this current lockdown, and the vision of her performing atop the Michael Fowler Centre stage, where she had the entire crowd glued to her every move, arms akimbo, has been on loop in my brain since. Her new album IRIS, out this morning, might be the catalyst for my Reb-etition (sorry), replacing a dancing Fountain with an entire collection of new genre-bending folkesque tunes written in the isolation limbo since releasing her Taite Music Prize-winning self-titled album in May 2020.

Out via Flying Nun, IRIS begins with poetic track 'Psyche', spoken and sung over sparse snare and a hypnotic bed of teetering piano, like a gentle welcome to the darker tones to come. Besides clues from singles like 'Heart' and 'Beastie', it's hard to guess what direction IRIS will shoot off to at any moment, and like the songwriting process Fountain described as trying to “catch the light refracting - the full saturation of suchness – and remain open to whatever emerged", IRIS spans a colourful folk-punk spectrum, held together by Fountain's fantastical, storytelling lyricism. Best listened to loud and close, immerse yourself in the dark romance of IRIS — and with a closing track titled 'Intermission', I have an inkling there may be more to come.

Reb Fountain: "IRIS provided me an opportunity to speak my unspoken, to reflect what I have seen and experienced from within and to bear witness. These songs are a reminder of a map to a place we all know. They are a vision of our past, a memory of our future and high beam headlights whether you’re behind the wheel or staring down the barrel of their glare. They are a story of endless unrequited love and the hunt for tethering to a kindred spirit.”

Reb Fountain
IRIS Album Release Tour NZ

Friday 29th October — Hawkes Bay Arts Festival, Hastings
Thursday 25th November - Isaac Theatre, Christchurch*
Saturday 27th November - Glenroy Auditorium, Dunedin*
Friday 3rd December - Opera House, Wellington*
Saturday 11th December - The Civic, Auckland*

*General public tickets available via Live Nation

Reb Fountain's album 'IRIS' is out today via Flying Nun Records.