Another remarkable discovery from the ever-reliable German label Pelagic Records — which hardly needs an introduction at this point — Hiroe stands out as one of its most recent and genuinely exciting signings.
Formed officially in the fall of 2020, this Philadelphia-based instrumental post-rock quintet may be young in name, but its members are seasoned musicians with solid credentials on both the local and national scenes.
Drawing inspiration from genre heavyweights such as Caspian, God Is An Astronaut, Lost in Kiev, Mogwai, Russian Circles, pg.lost, and My Bloody Valentine — as well as the darker, more emotionally charged soundscapes of Deftones, Thrice, Isis, Pelican, and Sunny Day Real Estate — HIROE made a striking entrance with their debut album Wrought.
At just 27 minutes across five meticulously crafted tracks, Wrought is both tightly wound and sonically expansive — drawing equally from the genre’s forebears (Caspian, Explosions in the Sky, pg.lost) and heavier influences such as Deftones, Thrice, and Pelican. The result? A sound that seamlessly fuses atmosphere and aggression, melody and melancholy, intimacy and immensity.
From the shimmering slow-burn of « Irusu » to the euphoric peaks of « The Approach », and from the delicately layered guitars of « Everything Is Fine » to the seismic riffs of « Doom Moon », HIROE exhibit an uncanny ability to balance orchestral dynamics with raw energy. Their use of three guitars — each carefully positioned in the mix — creates a wide sonic landscape, where arpeggios, octave runs, and crashing textures collide with purpose and clarity.
It’s a rare debut that lands with such maturity and force. And the band’s decision to work with a dream team of producers — Mario Quintero (Spotlights), Matt Bayles (Russian Circles, Isis, Minus the Bear), and Will Yip (Circa Survive, Turnstile) — only amplifies the album’s impact. The production is razor-sharp yet spacious, giving each instrument — especially the interwoven guitar lines — room to breathe and shine.
Much of Wrought was born from the chaos and introspection of the lockdown era. The album channels the emotional volatility of that time — the tension, the isolation, the cautious optimism — into music that feels both cathartic and life-affirming. As main songwriter Eric Kusanagi put it, « There wasn’t a roadmap on how to manage emotions during such an unprecedented time. This album became our way of processing that uncertainty. »
And it shows: these tracks are anything but background music. They command attention. They evolve, build, crash, and swell. They tap into something elemental — a sense of resilience forged under pressure, much like the album’s title implies. Wrought refers not only to the act of forging metal, but to the transformative process of shaping something meaningful out of raw material — something HIROE accomplished with conviction and craft.
