Back in the ’90s, the rise of the compact disc’s popularity was said to be a death blow to album artwork, as the smaller design and package presentation was a fraction of what was once viewed on vinyl sleeves. The onset of digital files in the last 15 years shrunk a band or artist’s visual identity even further, and who knows where we even stand today as songs get crunched into playlists, news feeds, and streaming sites, often identifiable just by their names and titles.
But sometimes you listen to a song and the band’s visual identity jumps right off the fucking screen of your device of choice. And that’s certainly at play with IRONTOM’s latest single, “More To Explore.” As the maniacal, almost carnival-like jam struts along with the reckless abandon of ’70s arena rock and the tightly-wound schizophrenia of modern alternative-pop, “More To Explore” leaps through the speakers in ways that make it impossible to not visualize. Led by the frantic, riding-shotgun-on-a-joyride-through-mania-city vocals of Harry Hayes and the guitarwork of Zach Irons, son of Red Hot Chili Peppers co-founder and one-time Pearl Jam drummer Jack Irons, the new IRONTOM track is a strutting peacock of rock and roll awesomeness.
And of course, it came together nearly accidentally.
“During the recording process, I played a guitar part during the bridge of this song that I thought would make the other guys in the band laugh,” Irons tells Vanyaland. “But it wound up becoming an actual part of the song. Sometimes that’s how the best music is created.”
“More To Explore” lives up to its namesake as a gateway to the Los Angeles quintet, and serves as the latest taste from their new record PARTNERS, which drops May 5 on Another Century Records. Less than a week later, IRONTOM begin a tour with Red Hot Chili Peppers on May 11 for eleven dates before hitting the road with Missio.
We have no doubt the live show jumps out as hard as the recorded track. Get into it below, and peep all IRONTOM’s RHCP dates after the Spotify jump.
IRONTOM with Red Hot Chili Peppers
May 11 Pittsburgh, PA PPG Paints Arena
May 13 Cleveland, OH Quicken Loans Arena
May 14 Columbus, OH The Schottenstein Center
May 16 Louisville, KY KFC Yum! Center
May 18 Indianapolis, IN Bankers Life Fieldhouse
May 19 Cincinnati, OH US Bank Arena
May 21 Kansas City, MO Sprint Center
May 23 Des Moines, IA Wells Fargo Arena
May 26 Winnipeg, Canada MTS Centre (sold out)
May 28 Edmonton, Canada Rogers Place (sold out)
May 29 Calgary, Canada Scotiabank Saddledome (sold out)