Idle Heirs is a band born from necessity, forged through a need to articulate previously unspoken feelings, illuminating the darkest recesses and inhabiting them wholeheartedly.
With their debut album Life Is Violence, Idle Heirs have created a post-metal record that captures a certain vulnerability within its mournful sound. Vocalist Sean Ingram attributes this to the fact that throughout its creation, even as the songs themselves were taking shape and coming to life, the album was still not recorded with an audience in mind. Assuming that it would never be heard beyond his closest circle of friends allowed a disarming honesty to permeate the songs.
Embracing the idea that art can be an effective way of processing experiences, Ingram channeled a complex web of grief and existential thought into his lyrics. Thematically, Life Is Violence contemplates the thread of paternal influence from generation to generation and how it can be disrupted. Ingram examines the impact his father had on his life, whilst simultaneously contemplating his own mortality and what he will pass down to his children. With a determination to ensure that what he leaves behind in the future is markedly different to what he inherited himself, Idle Heirs have issued a missive that stands as both a line in the sand and a testament to love.
The album’s poignant second single “Pillow Talk” arrives today. Josh Barber comments: “This is a deeply personal song. I feel like a lot of people can relate to what is portrayed in this video. The lyrics and visuals of Pillow Talk speak for itself.“
For over a decade, Ingram’s focus had been elsewhere; due to the prolonged hiatus of Coalesce, music was no longer at the forefront of his artistic endeavors. When events— on both a global and personal level, and specifically, where the two intersect— conspired to bring Ingram to a place where music once again became essential, the seed for Idle Heirs was planted. Rather than the conditions being right for a musical reprise, the conditions had to be all wrong, leaving only one way forward.
Having connected with musician and producer Josh Barber, Ingram already knew who his co-conspirator for this mission would be. The two friends had discussed working together on music but their earliest efforts had stalled. Describing himself as “a doer, not a dreamer”, Ingram made it clear to Barber that there was an increasing urgency to getting the project off the ground. Barber understood how imperative this was to them both, and took dramatic measures to kickstart the creative process.
Barber sequestered himself in a remote part of the Pacific Northwest for eight days, giving himself the space and time to concentrate solely on what would become the blueprint for the debut Idle Heirs album. Shedding his self-imposed attempts to compose what others expected of him, Barber wrote with a solitary, highly focussed mindset, all the while imbibing the atmosphere of the gloomy forests and storm-battered shoreline around him.
Motivated only by a need to express what roiled inside them, the duo had no intention of the band being for public consumption. Even as the creative contributions of others weaved their way into the Idle Heirs core, the pair remained focussed only on the path they sought to follow, trusting each other implicitly and pushing each other each and every step of the way.
Life Is Violence was recorded at Ocean Sound studio in Norway— something of a bucket list adventure, given Barber’s fondness of Cult of Luna. Indulging themselves in the freedom that came with creating without restriction or expectation, the pair decamped to the icy Norwegian wilderness with five of their collaborators to lay down the eight tracks. The isolation of the studio and the absence of external pressures allowed for an unparalleled clarity and exacting level of attention to detail.
Pre-order Life Is Violence here ahead of its April 11 release date and see the band at their record release show the same day in Kansas City, MO.
Idle Heirs, live:
Apr. 11 Kansas City, MO – Warehouse on Broadway (Record Release Show w/ Norma Jean [tickets])
