By Dylan Johnston

Since releasing their debut EP B in 2016, Manchester band Ist Ist have been building a reputation in the UK’s vibrant post-punk scene. While their contemporaries have stretched the genre to include a myriad of new sounds like Black Country, New Roads chamber indie pop sound and the jazz fusion prog of Black Midi, Ist Ist have stayed true to the roots of post-punk.

They are a modern update of bass guitar led, pseudo-industrial genre founders Joy Division and Gang of Four, who at times lean into synth-pop sounds akin to Gary Numan or New Order.

This old but new sound combined with their renown as a live band have built to the release of their latest album, Dagger. This new LP takes the band further into a pop sound than ever before, which is clear right from the jump on the opening track “I am the Fear”. The stinging synth of the intro coming together with the bass and drums evokes industrial stalwarts Ramstein, but as the song develops any of the implied edge is lost the verse when weak guitars come in with a vocal that sounds like a poor Ian Curtis impression. The lyrics come across more like Chat-GPT's attempt at goth poetry than anything genuinely brooding.

The album continues with Makes No Difference, which opens with a strong Peter Hook-like bassline, but then falls into the same pitfalls of toothless production paired with generic edgy lyrics. Warning Signs, while maintaining the uninteresting sound palette, does at least have a catchy chorus rhythm.

The record sounds exceptionally samey track to track, except for the penultimate Song for Someone. It opens with atmospheric chimes and a synth bed that bears a resemblance to the opening of Angelo Badalamenti’s theme for Laura Palmer from Twin Peaks. The lyrics that follow are the most effective on the project. They are a straightforward lament that are all the better for their simplicity.

Unfortunately, the albums closer Ambition is a return to poor form. The lyrics are again too vague to be emotionally impactful and too conventional to be interesting, while the sound returns to boilerplate biteless pop-rock.

While Daggers has its moments, only one of them lasts for an entire song. The rest sounds like The Killers doing their best impression of Bauhaus instead of the new album from the heirs to Joy Division. If you’re looking for the latter, I would suggest skipping Daggers.

Dagger album by IST IST review