Iota – Pentasomnia

by Mark 'Yeti' Richard · September 25, 2024

Iota is a 3-piece, heavy psychedelic rock band from Salt Lake City, Utah. They formed in 2002 and released their debut album in 2008 entitled Tales, on Small Stone Records. The album was very well received and remains a landmark record for the psychedelic space rock universe. It was a top release of 2008 and a favorite to many fans of the genre. Unfortunately, the band faded away after that and drifted into obscurity. Founding guitarist/vocalist Joey Toscano went on to form The Dwellers, who released two records on Small Stone Records, 2012’s Good Morning Harakiri, and 2014’s Pagan Fruit. Oz Yasri, who played bass in Iota, joined the band Bird Eater afterwards. The third member of the band is drummer/producer Andy Patterson (SubRosa, The Otolith, Insect Ark, and others). Finally, over fifteen years after Tales was released, Iota released their second album Pentasomnia, on March 22nd, 2024. The record contains five songs at thirty two minutes long and was also released on Small Stone Records.

The album as described by the band: “Pentasomnia is an amalgamation,” says Toscano, “roughly translating to ‘five dreams’. Each song is told from the perspective of a different mental state. Challenging the ideas of traditional norms about identity and our place within the world; questioning the very idea of a self. A cathartic acknowledgement of our infinitesimally small place in a vast musical landscape. Live shows will unveil the album’s essence, offering glimpses into our musical journey’s dark comedy and complexity. Enjoy these songs as snapshots of a fever dream.”

Lead off track “The Intruder” begins with a mellow passage that melts into a spacey jam session of psychedelic blues leads and rolling bass lines. The vocals are relaxed and chill which makes the sound more intriguing. However, the song shifts gears at around the 4:50 minute mark and gets more involved with heavier rhythms and pounding drumming. It then resonates back to a more subdued structure with cool layered vocals that slowly lingers into completion. The second track, “The Witness” is a more direct sonic experience of swirling synthesizing, airy guitars, and a driving rhythm section with the bass and drums locked in. The vocals of Toscano are better sung on this record compared to the Hetfield style gruffness on Tales. His work in The Dwellers changed him into a better singer on Pentasomnia. “The Returner” explores some cool pace changes and psychedelic jamming with Toscano’s soaring leads. Yastri and Patterson are in the groove with noodling bass throughout. The song captures the “Dimensional Orbiter” feel from Tales, in a fraction of the time. The song is just over nine minutes compared to the nearly twenty three minute opus.

“The Timekeeper” is a journey in space exploration. The flowing sounds of sonic rejoice are present in the jam like groove to the song. Iota are masters of their craft with this one. They don’t over do or prolong the song for the sake of filling in gaps with needless musical exaggerations. The band keeps the record concise. At just over thirty two minutes, Pentasomnia is on the shorter side but packs a lot of comprehensible music in that time. The fifth and final track “The Great Dissolver” is a suitable closer. It’s a fairly melodic song that plays well to the rest of the album.

Overall, Pentasomnia is a great listen. As was the case with Tales, the album takes patience and persistence to fully appreciate what Iota are capable of creating. The band toiled through some adversity in putting this recording together but has succeeded to making it a worthy follow up to their classic debut.