The band ischia is carving out its own future. Walls of guitars and dream-pop, reflections on relationships and toxic masculinity, as well as a hint of utopia. All of this pervades the debut album “leave me to the future” by the quartet ischia.
The opening song “sides” immediately takes a musical stand. The walls of guitars and the charmingly weird riff, played with fervor, immediately remind you of My Bloody Valentine. The breathy vocals that float above the dense sound also reference the shoegaze era of the 90s.
But it’s not just the dream-pop influence that the band ischia make audible on their debut “Leave Me To The Future”. Singer Adele Ischia and bassist Hjörtur Hjörleifsson, both also members of the well-known band Endless Wellness, draw on a large pool of favorite music with Lena Kauntz on lead guitar and keyboards, and drummer Philipp Hackl.
It boasts elements of the likes of Vampire Weekend, Mitski or even early Tame Impala stuff and, as drummer Philipp only realized after the recordings, you can also hear traces of the Breeders in the songs.
The beautiful keyboard that booms through the room at the beginning of “sleep” also makes the indie hearts of fans like Stereolab beat faster. Despite all the references that can be heard in ischia’s songs, the band has retained an independence that transfers their sound into the here and now. Rough and direct, fresh and playful, dreamy and yet anchored in the present, you can dance to “sleep”, but just as well as daydream.
Separation, autonomy and toxic masculinity
Adele and Hjörtur have really found something in each other. In their younger years in the rather conservative city of Salzburg, they stood out like colorful birds. Hjörtur – because he wanted to earn a bit of extra money as a street musician and Adele – whose Bob Dylan-look immediately caught Hjörtur’s eye. From then on, it took a while for the two of them to get to know each other musically, but the foundations were laid for a long friendship.
Moving to Vienna and defying social norms contributed to a song like “Sorry Mama”. Here, Adele defends herself against the constant questions about children from her mother as well as everyday sexism; transformed into an indie ballad that sounds peaceful and calm on the surface.
Toxic masculinity is often addressed on “Leave Me To The Future”. For example, in “manbaby”, a gently creeping song that, with its alien-like guitar melodies, 60s flair and deep vocals, poses the question of whether the other person really still wants to behave like a baby.
The theme becomes even clearer in the song “fake”. The brute guitars of the chorus make the anger audible that arises when you recognize the obvious deceitfulness of the other person and hurl it in their face. Despite all the anger, it is also a call not to let such experiences get you down and – as the video shows – to regain the strength for self-determination through a good friendship.
A touch of utopia
The theme of relationships runs through ischia’s entire album. However, Adele Ischia is not primarily concerned with romantic entanglements. Rather, it is about the relationship to oneself, relationships with family and loved ones. There is also room for uncertainty, as in “is it gonna last”, which expresses with a pounding rhythm (here ischia only realized a certain similarity to Kate Bush’s “Running Up That Hill” afterwards) and soulful verses that life often runs too fast, it is difficult to orient oneself and the longing for stability becomes deafening.
Even if ischia doesn’t address it directly in the songs and leaves a lot of room for interpretation, the album is also an invitation to actively participate in shaping the future – both in our immediate interaction and in the bigger picture. After all, each has a significant influence on the other. Small changes can collectively lead to a big change.
The album title and cover illustrate that, despite all the crises and gloomy developments, it is not yet too late. For the rotting fruit – a symbol of the downfall of our wasteful, capitalist-misguided behavior – can become the compost for a new future. Even though ischia is aware of the dystopian omens of our time, the band has chosen to work towards a better future. And with this beautiful indie-guitar-pop album, so do they spread a touch of utopia to the world.
“leave me to the future” by ischia was released on September 13th, 2024 on siluh records.
Translated from the German original by Arianna Alfreds.