Here’s the creative mind behind the music: Rauf Jordan provides bass and vocals for I Plead Irony, while Paul McDonald contributes on guitar and backing vocals, and Lawrence Arnold pounds away on the drums and backup vocals. These three aren’t merely musicians; they are good friends who have been crafting music together in different formations since 2004, achieving something of a telepathic connection when it comes to music-making that simply cannot be taught or faked. Their third full album, “This Monologue Conversation”, is the result of a decade-long collaboration and an arduous ten-year process. It was a near-finished album that somehow managed to survive the travails of physical separation, a worldwide epidemic, and even the temporary dissolution of the band itself, thanks to the undeniable monumentality of its songs that could not simply be shelved away. This fantastic album was released on September 4 and is a tour de force of alternative rock flavored with a healthy dose of punk and blues and a penchant for dark, contradictory, and uncompromising themes. Let’s have a look at “This Monologue Conversation”.
The sound of a single, crisp snare crack reverberates like a sharp gunshot in an empty hallway, followed immediately by the onslaught of a harsh guitar wall, hammering into the silence with its inexorable beat. Defining the tone of the whole album, “Architect Effect” comes crashing through the speakers as an attack on social engineering and control of society, as well as on the blueprints and invisible hands that shape our lives. The lyrics explore the theme of suffocation in a world made by invisible hands, asking if we really choose anything at all, or if we react by rote to what the corporation has laid out before us. The character in the song talks about how he did as he was told by this person who is the architect of his life. The musical aspects of the song are exemplified by the intense and highly charged nature of post-hardcore and alternative rock music, which is driven by the thunderous machine-gun drumming of Lawrence Arnold and the razor-sharp guitar riffs provided by Paul McDonald. The vocal performance of Rauf Jordan is another outstanding example of controlled fury, delivered in an intense and urgent tone that smoothly transitions from a conversation-like delivery to an impassioned roar on the chorus. The effect of the song is immediate and striking, leaving one with an electrical jolt of sensation.
Transitioning from system critique to intensely personal entrapment, “Inside The Lines” begins with an infectious bass line that repeats itself hypnotically and is subsequently flooded by a melancholy guitar arpeggio. Inside the Lines was originally written from a personal perspective: about the constraints people create for themselves and how those constraints can eventually become destructive. The primary focus of the song revolves around the overwhelming fear of going beyond the prescribed boundaries of acceptable behavior, exploring one’s limitations, censoring oneself, and creating cages out of the fear of being judged. Musically, it tells a story of a person looking into the edges of his life, trying to find out whether safety equals stagnation. In relation to musicality, the arrangement of instruments benefits from complex dynamics, setting the verse stage against atmospheric guitar parts and a large, grandiose wall of sound during the refrain sections, where the rhythmic band gets heavier with added weight. The singing is loaded with vulnerability and cynical detachment, making use of the tired mid-range voice that breaks through with raw emotion before harmonies emerge in an attempt to save one’s dignity and deliver triumph amidst despair. In its effect on the listener, the song inspires introspection and contemplation of a personal life choice: whether you live or just hide.
Kicking off with an intense burst of feedback, leading to a rapid, punkish rhythm and a steady, ascending guitar hook, “Call In The Sun” redirects the focus of the album toward a passionate desire for enlightenment within one’s personal abyss. The song focuses on emotional exhaustion, burnout, and the desperation of seeking an epiphany in a long series of winter days. This song deals with a situation where everyone is experiencing exhaustion from playing the role of someone who tries to fight against his own indifference and emotional depletion. As for its musical side, it is an amazing example of alternative rock. This track is full of driving rhythm performed with breathless drumming, propulsive bass line, and burning guitar riffs that jump with an infectious and dynamic energy. Singing-wise, Rauf sings the lines in a breathless and passionate manner, with amazing backing vocals from Paul and Lawrence adding their voices to make the chorus sound anthemic.
Diving headlong into a swampy groove, “Settle Or Raise” starts off with a languid, grinding bluesy guitar riff accompanied by slow, emphatic floor tom hits reminiscent of a ticking clock in a dust-laden room. Thematically, the song deals with the pressure of moments when we are faced with no choice but to settle for a compromise or make an ultimatum decision that pits one against the choice of taking a dangerous chance or settling for a life of misery. In terms of lyrics, the song breaks down the psychological process of negotiation with oneself, stripping away our justifications for remaining in a destructive environment or relationship. As for the music, there is definitely a darker edge with emphasis on heavy and distorted bass, slowly bent guitars, and a slow but predatory rhythm section. Vocally, the song features a gritty, low, and defiant performance that steers clear of melodrama and opts instead for raw honesty.
Temporarily laying aside the dense layer of distortion to reveal an ethereal fragility, “Undone” begins with an eerie tremor of an acoustic guitar sequence with a slow and sorrowful drone of an ambient synthesizer sounding like dust particles in a beam of sunlight. The lyrical concept captures the mesmerizing but painful process of emotional destruction; once the edifice of your life starts falling down, there is nothing left to hide behind anymore. It is a powerful description of vulnerability, pain, and peace one gets when finally admitting the inability to keep everything in order. Musically, this track appears to be the heart of the whole record, employing a minimalistic sound approach and making every pluck of strings and breath feel magnified until the middle of the song, when it gradually becomes more dramatic and cinematic. With its weeping electric guitars and crying cymbals, it reveals the powerful emotion of a broken heart. Vocals are surprisingly delicate and soft but at the same time so profoundly loaded with emotions and pain as if one can sense a personal story.
Abruptly snapping into the realm of consciousness with a twitching, twitchy, angular guitar riff and a frenetic, anxious drumbeat that emulates a rapid heartbeat, “Nervous System” dives straight into the physical and psychological aspects of anxiety in the modern world. From a lyrical standpoint, “Nervous System” discusses sensory overload, burnout in the modern world, and living in a body that will not shut itself off in a world that continues to become more frantic. Musically speaking, the song is an exercise in controlled frenzy, consisting of a staccato beat, post-punk guitar riffs that are jarring, and a frenetic bassline that keeps the listener engaged. Vocally, the song is delivered breathlessly and with sharpness, infused with a dark sense of humor and intense cadence to convey the feeling of panic with sharp wit.
Beginning with a robust drumstick beat and marching bass line and an isolated and echoey clean guitar note that sounds like a ringing alarm in a barren hallway, “Look Out Body” creates a shift from the spiritual death of life to that of physical death and the bodily awareness of it. The theme focuses on how our mind and body relate to each other, how our bodies carry the marks of our pain, how they grow old against our wishes, and how they ask for attention if we try to pretend we do not feel them. In terms of lyrics, the song is a stern warning to ourselves, combining dark humor with hard reality as it asks just how much beating one human body can endure. On the musical level, the song develops gradually, adding percussion, distortion of melodies, and a threatening atmosphere that shows the best traits of alternative rock. In vocal performance, Rauf brings a powerful and authoritative presence, which cuts through the instrumental complexity.
Without any distraction in the beginning, “History” opens with a wild loop of acoustic guitar played alongside a low, eerie feedback loop that resembles a concert that is being played in a big stadium. The song talks about society’s preoccupation with progress, reversal, and humanity’s relationship with history, which felt considerably more unsettling. The lyrics have a broader scope of vision concerning humanity, history, and cycles in generations, and wonder if humanity actually learns from what has happened in the past or if we all continue repeating ourselves in a destructive cycle. The song challenges us to think about the comfort provided by narratives of the past and the gritty and rough truths that we try to hide in monuments and textbooks. Musically, “History” is a slow-building song that layers atmospheric electric guitars, vocal harmonies, and a strong drum beat that beats like a heart. The vocals are thoughtful, world-weary, and drenched in cynical sarcasm. The effect leaves the listener pondering in a vast expanse of reflection about where we belong in the scheme of things.
The song “Mark Me Down” kicks off with bold and aggressive drumming and a barrage of thick, overdriven guitar chords, delivering its powerful message as if it were a reckoning. The subject matter deals with the themes of accountability, legacy, and making one’s mark on the world in spite of one’s failings, scars, and flaws, and all the other imperfections that make us human beings. It rejects the polished image of ourselves that we portray to society and demands recognition of our true selves. The character in the song demands attention because he is like everyone else and would not let anyone or anything discriminate against him. From the musical point of view, the track is a hard-hitting rock anthem, powered by lightning-fast riffs, heavy bass licks, and a powerful rhythm section. The vocals soar and rage and cry out with an impassioned and defiant tone, abandoning the standard lead lines in favor of massive gang vocal choruses.
Plunging into a dark, almost industrial setting, the song “Death By Internal Combustion” starts with a speech where the speaker tells his recipient that the things that are wrong with him are all internal; it’s in his mind and heart. Then, sounds of an intense bass groove emanate from a synthesizer, accompanied by some scratching metal sounds of a guitar, symbolizing the inner malfunction of a machine due to overheating. The message of the lyrics focuses on an evil and metaphorical depiction of the process of self-destruction through emotional suffocation that leads a person to an explosive situation when he can no longer endure his anger inside, and it explodes within him and manifests on the outside. As far as musical characteristics are concerned, there are heavy, almost claustrophobic, and intense instruments such as a grinding bass line, dissonant guitar leads, and a mechanical beat of the drums performed with precision. The singing is intense and menacing, with vibrations of internal anger in a person that eventually explode into distorted singing. The effect of the song is dark, intense, and brilliant.
With the closing of the eleven-track epic journey with a beautiful and redemptive ending, “Falling Upwards” kicks off with an amazing flow of warm, open chord acoustic strums with a gentle ambient synth pad that sounds like the rising sun shining on a beaten landscape. The overall concept works as a thematic opposite to the album’s darker and more cynical themes, highlighting how people elevate themselves from their lows not by force but through love, connection, and grace. “Falling Upwards”, the last, beautiful secret penned for this album, arrives in a kind of gentle, seismic movement, purposefully turning towards the light after a decade of tracks exploring the shadowy recesses of the human mind. Despite the winding path it takes and the heavy thoughts it entertains, it manages to create a sense of rising that does not feel like a climb at all, but rather, a surrender. And the difference is crucial. Falling does not involve struggling up the mountain with white knuckles, desperate to reclaim some long-lost piece of humanity; it does not require any effort on our part because something infinitely more powerful lifts us: love, human connection, another person to ground us. In the dust and the dark, the gravity of our isolation gives way, and we start to move in a new direction. Perhaps that is what the real metaphor is here: true grace is not found by fighting our way out of the darkness but in surrendering to it. In its lyrics, it highlights the dichotomy of gaining strength through surrender and accepting that, for us to grow sometimes, we have to fall apart before we see that we’re ascending. Musically, it is the most grandiose and soulful track on the album, featuring an array of guitar melodies, orchestral soundscapes, and a wall of multi-tracked vocal harmonies that result in a majestic crescendo. The vocals sing with an emotional triumph that elevates the listener in a surge of cathartic emotions. Its aftereffects leave you sitting in peaceful awe with the lingering, reverberating notes fading out into silence.
“This Monologue Conversation” is a tale of great resilience, emerging from the type of artistic connection that neither distance nor time could ever break. This album, which is partly recorded with Guillaume Doussaud at Swan Sound Studio in France and then completed in Rauf’s own house, was already on the verge of being finished before life, geographical distances, and the worldwide stop brought about by the pandemic compelled the group to take a frustratingly long break. However, this is an art form that could not just lie dormant. Years later, propelled by their undying faith in what they had produced, the duo came back to their recordings and completed what they had started before inviting Doussaud to complete the work of mixing and mastering their creation. It is evidence that some songs are so strong; they will lie in wait until the world is ready to hear them.
Combining alternative rock with punk and blues in their raw and hurtful edge, they simply act out of instinct—throwing things into the room, breaking them, jamming to make the room vibrate, putting things back together again into amazing I Plead Irony songs, or leaving them to fade away quietly. Their third masterpiece album, This Monologue Conversation, takes it all even further by making the already amazing irony of the band evident, creating a direct line from their name through This Statement Is False to The Solution Is The Problem. In eleven songs that are both amazing and human, the album deals with restrictions, conformity, fear, identity, self-destruction, and the amazing circle of progress and its negation, while staying amazingly self-aware. If you feel like joining a really exciting force in rock music, then jumping right into the band’s universe will be the easiest thing you will do. Start by listening to “This Monologue Conversation.” Trust me, once you get into this music, you will become a lifelong fan!
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