Claire Cronin shares "Iris in Pyre," the final advance single from her new album of folk horror-themed slowcore, The Bruise 05 Oct 2026

“Iris in Pyre,” the final advance single from American doom folk songwriter Claire Cronin's fourth LP The Bruise, was premiered today by Under the Radar Magazine. Under the Radar’s Caleb Campbell writes: ‘‘Iris in Pyre’ is a desolate, echoing mood piece. Cronin is a spectral presence, guiding the track with a hypnotic vocal performance as the instrumentation creeps at a moody, roiling simmer. The track’s acoustic undercurrents root it in meditative folk music, but Cronin and her collaborators also layer textures together to sinister effect, undergirding her droning melodies with hard slabs of rocky black distortion. It never quite resolves, instead letting Cronin’s vocals fade away as the track winds on toward its end, colored by mournful funeral synth tones.”

“Iris in Pyre,” follows previous singles ”Black Water” &”Before the End of Time.”

Claire Cronin on “Iris in Pyre”

“Iris in Pyre is about how it hurts to see terrible things. I’m singing about burning the irises of my eyes, of dyeing my clothes black in a kind of funeral pyre. The images in the song speak to threats of violence, social sickness, and fascist displays of power. It’s the feeling I get when reading the news.

The song wants to be slow, heavy doom metal. It’s not as extreme as that, but we used layering to create weight — with multiple guitars, vocals, and the drone of harmonium and synth. We also added a substrate of field recordings: digging in the dirt, moving rocks around. And the sound of Catholic friars chanting, which I recorded through the muffled encasement of my coat pocket.”

Claire Cronin on the “Iris in Pyre” visualizer

“For this video, I used cut-up footage of forest fires from a 1970s instructional film from the Prelinger Archives. The song centers on a metaphor of burning and a feeling of horror, so I think it creates the right atmosphere. While watching this footage, I can’t help but worry about climate change and the wildfires that have torn across the world in past months.”

The Bruise Iridescent gold vinyl, classic black vinyl, digital downloads & a 20-page Risograph-printed Lyrics & Art zine are available for pre-order HERE. Cassette tapes are available from A Moth Object.