Iconoclast Haha

On Iconoclast HaHa, San Francisco four-piece Aluminum take the genre synthesis of their debut - equal parts shoegaze, big beat, and alt-pop - and raise the temperature to a boil. Songwriters and lead vocalists Marc Leyda and Ryann Gonsalves continue to strike a balance between pop catchiness and experimental abandon while infusing each song with spontaneity, immediacy, and post-punk tenacity. "We intended for this to be a more guitar-forward album," notes Leyda, "so we recorded through Marshall stacks to give it a heavier feel, and to get a faster, more punkish sound that will be massive and immersive in a live setting." Fittingly, the album comprises a set of electrifying, full-band studio performances from an inspired week with recording engineer Jack Shirley at Atomic Garden Studio in Oakland.Thematically, Gonsalves notes major inspiration from "the frustration of living within a societal system that sets you up for failure, always 'not being enough' or 'being too much', and all the anger, exhaustion, and pressure to comply." Reflecting on the confluence of mood, message, and maelstrom across Iconoclast HaHa, Leyda elaborates with his ultimate artistic question: "When it feels like the world is tipping toward devastation, you keep pushing and trying to make something powerful and meaningful, because what else can you do?"