It's New Music Friday, and Post Animal released their latest album IRON on July 25. The Chicago-born five-piece indie rock band, comprised of Dalton Allison, Jake Hirshland, Javi Reyes, Wesley Toledo, and Matt Williams, reunited with former member Joe Keery to create a collection of songs so solid they must have been formed from steel. The three singles from this project, "Last Goodbye," "Pie In The Sky," and "What's A Good Life," gave fans a taste of the range of soundscapes to come.
The album opens with a heartfelt instrumental titled "Malcolm's Cooking." The comforting acoustic guitar strums and nature sounds transport the listener to a warm summer night surrounded by friends, family, and loved ones. Clinking bottle noises, faint chatter, and laughter disarm the listener and form a personal connection with them right off the bat, inviting them to absorb the rest of the tracks in the same way. "Malcolm's Cooking" is one of two instrumentals, with the playful "Main Menu" sitting toward the end of the album. It features piano and drum sounds straight out of Nintendo, while an array of layered voicemails play. The voicemails range from well-wishes sent to friends on flights to updates from car mechanics making the track feel like a choose-your-own adventure journey.
Post Animal debuted the punchy track "Setting Sun" live on tour while opening for Djo, the solo musical project of Keery. The song is a high-energy rock anthem with a hard-hitting chorus and a guitar riff that will get stuck in your head. Lyrics like "Hit the gas speed it up / It's time to make up for the years spent idlin'" and "Not scared of the dark side, just of letting it all pass by" explore the idea that one can always seize the moment. Even if the sun is "setting," it is "still burning." A tender piano melody cuts in before the bridge, giving the listener a moment to reflect on ways they can conquer the present, before a delicious synth and drum instrumental breakdown energizes them to act on it.
The standout track, "Dorien Kregg," warns listeners that it's lonely at the top. This character, Kregg, finds himself getting caught up in the idea of extravagance, rather than the reality of what's at stake. He wants to have "Golden mirrors line a crystal maze" and "A chrome rocket with an all-knowing eye / Haaaaaa so long suckers!" The playfulness, storytelling prowess, and vocal intentions in the verses are reminiscent of The Rocky Horror Picture Show, making it a fun new cadence for the band. The chorus presents the opposing point of view, arguing that the isolation is overwhelming. Lyrics like "You made it / You're up there all alone / You're lying on the floor" and "Was it worth the price you paid?" remind Kregg how fleeting the mirage of glitz and glamor can be. In verse two, Kregg remarks, "Huh, it's awful cold on the thirty-third floor," and questions, "Do things really change on a dime?" An Elizabethan-esque instrumental reprise plays, while a cheeky and profane voicemail, seemingly addressed to bandmate Matt Williams, concludes the track, making this fable a cautionary tale.
The band closes the album with the title track, "IRON." It employs a slow and reflective tone to navigate a fizzled-out relationship. Chock full of metal metaphors, lyrics like "You said 'Iron sharpens Iron' / But a blade is still a blade / Were we real or just unbridled?" dare to define the difference between fleeting passion and true symbiosis. They settle on the idea that having any contact, even if it is just as friends, is better than nothing: "I'll take what I can get / For just a bit of your shine." The line is a callback to that same lyric in the cheesy and doting "Pie In The Sky," which contextualizes how drastically relationship dynamics can change.
IRON is unafraid to experiment, and in the process, it becomes a masterclass on the human experience. The way each track explores relationships–how they can feel euphoric and then melt away–cements IRON as an extraordinary 2025 release.
Post Animal is currently on the road with Djo and will return for a headline tour this November, making a stop at Boston's The Sinclair on November 4. Buy tickets here.
TOUR DATES
November 1 - Detroit, MI - El Club
November 2 - Toronto, ON - The Garrison
November 4 - Cambridge, MA - The Sinclair
November 5- Hamden, CT - Space Ballroom
November 7 - Brooklyn, NY - Music Hall of Williamsburg
November 8 - Philadelphia, PA - Johnny Brenda’s
November 10 - Washington, DC - DC9 Nightclub
November 11 - Carrboro, NC - Cat’s Cradle Back Room
November 13 - Atlanta, GA - The Earl
November 14 - Nashville, TN - Third Man Records (Blue Room)
November 15 - Saint Louis, MO - Off Broadway Nightclub
November 17 - Madison, WI - High Noon Saloon
November 18 - Chicago, IL - Thalia Hall
December 3 - Lawrence, KS - The Bottleneck
December 5 - Dallas, TX - Dada
December 6 - Austin, TX - The Parish
December 9 - Los Angeles, CA - Teragram Ballroom
December 10 - San Francisco, CA - The Independent
December 12 - Portland, OR - Polaris Hall
December 13 - Seattle, WA - Neumos (Barboza)
December 15 - Salt Lake City, UT - Kilby Court
December 17 - Denver, Co - Bluebird Theater
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