Toronto’s Mad Iris has been playing around Canada since 2023, incorporating noise rock, punk, shoegaze, and grunge, into a sound that honors progenitors like Sonic Youth, Swirlies, and early Jesus & Mary Chain. Their self-titled debut album, out May 29, 2026, covers desire, obsession, jealousy, and pettiness, while taking place on back seats, night buses, and gas stations, with gum stuck to desks, and drinks spilled on sticky floors. Throughout, obsessive impulses spiral into emotional meltdowns, with songs lurching between restraint and eruption.
A Mad Iris song teeters on disaster, shifting from gritty feedback to a masterful, sloppy haze, employing distorted sounds as if recorded directly to cassette, and placing them in the context of strong, sparkling production. Complementing their music are walls of noisy visuals: videos that seem like coming from a worn VHS tape, scrapbook show flyers, and alleyway photoshoots. “Our visuals are an intricate part of the band’s style,” says bassist Ela Hintasu, who shares lead vocals with guitarist Kaiya Rosie, often on the same song. With a sound, style, and presence fully intentional, Mad Iris goes beyond being a band, becoming more an idea.