“Kisses To Chaos”, the third album by Polish quartet Izzy And The Black Trees, is their most accomplished, matured and polished record yet. We absolutely loved “Revolutions Comes In Waves”, the record number deux that came out in 2022, and we thought it the best thing since the invention of potato pancakes. We mean no disrespect to “RCIW”, but “Kisses To Chaos” is on a completely different level – it’s raw, emotional, detailed, passionate, masterful and utterly brilliant. This is not just a great record by a Polish artist. This is an LP that can proudly sit on a shelf alongside “Achtung Baby” by U2, “Entertainment!” by Gang of Four or Sonic Youth’s “Daydream Nation”.
Official bio: Born out of the industrial pulse of Łódź, Kisses to Chaos channels the city’s contrasts transformation and decay, grit and unexpected beauty – into a raw, darkly melodic alt-rock force. Since emerging from Poznań in 2018, frontwoman Izabela “Izzy” Rekowska and her band have carved a reputation for turning emotional upheaval into electrifying sound, earning praise from BBC 6 Music, RTE 2FM, KEXP, NME, and Dork, and lighting up stages from ESNS and OFF Festival to Liverpool Sound City. Following the acclaimed Revolution Comes in Waves (2022) and the charged 2024 EP Go On, Test The System, the new album marks the band’s fiercest evolution. Written and recorded from summer 2024 to early spring 2025, Kisses to Chaos digs into the raw edges of the human condition — internal battles, rebellion, and the strange beauty born from disorder — driven by Izzy’s haunting vocals and the band’s signature fuzz-drenched intensity. “Kisses to Chaos” is out on 27.02.2026.
As a reviewer, I absolutely live and breathe for albums like this. At Vanadian Avenue, we receive a lot of bad, a lot of good and even some truly great tracks to listen to. Yet, modern classics such as “Kisses To Chaos” are rarer than not corrupted politicians or honest and caring billionaires. Unicorns, hen’s teeth and all that. Everyone swears they heard perfect records, but nobody can name one. Well, now I can.
“Kisses To Chaos” is one of those rare beasts that will captivate your attention from the moment the music starts. 11 beautifully layered, rich, incredibly poetic and varied songs. The band experimented with genres, styles and types of widely perceived rock music: from alternative rock, through post punk, indie, melodic rock, pop rock, prog, grunge, adult contemporary to art rock, noise rock, experimental rock and emo. I can hear many influences from gothic rock and new wave artists (The Cure, Siuxie and The Banshees, David Bowie, Suzanne Vega), a lot of sonic shouts outs to classic Polish rock (Maanam, Closterkeller), and a bit of seasoning from American art/experimental rock scene (Polvo, Helium, Pavement, Sonic Youth, Talking Heads). The record is a modern take on the 80’s and 90’s underground rock scene: combining British coldness with American boldness and emotional political consciousness.
The record starts with “Escape from the Liberty Cinema”, a track inspired by the cult classic 1990 movie by Wojciech Marczewski. Just like the movie, the album was recorded in the city of Lódź, the band was sleeping in an apartment with the view of the former Liberty cinema, just across the square. Today, the building no longer hosts cinema but a shop, but it inspired the group to record one of the strangest yet most beautiful compositions on the album. I recently learnt that it was supposed to be fully instrumental, changes were introduced in the studio after Izabela Rekowska, the lead singer, wrote the lyrics to the music. You will have to wait nearly 3 minutes to hear Iza sing, but it’s bloody worth it. “Escape from the Liberty Cinema” is my favourite track on the album.
The further we go, the better it gets. Released as singles “Restless Nights” and “Marseille” are uncompromising, wild and incredibly catchy. “Restless Nights” is pure post punk galore, it would be perfect for a sountrack to the new David Lynch movie, if we could get one of course, and “Marseille” has this strange beat that reminds me of Kent circa “Hagnesta Hill” era. It’s atmospheric, melodic and slightly unnerving. Haunting and psychedelic in equal parts. I absolutely love the dual vocals: Iza is semi singing/semi speaking in the verses and the guitarist, Mariusz Dojs drones wonderfully in the background.
“This Land is Ours” is angry, politically and socially conscious lyrically, and dirty, swinging and cocky musically. I consider it a bridge between “Revolution Comes In Waves” and “Kisses To Chaos” – a classic Izzy and The Black Trees in sound and spirit. “Spring Time Rush” is rhythmic, funky in a way and unapologetically paying tribute to Talking Heads and Blondie.
“Butch Vig” and “Stalker” have been highlighted by other reviewers as some of the strongest songs on the album. “Butch Vig” is my second favourite trac – bold, experimental, heavily 80’s pop influenced with a bass line to die for. In sharp contrast, “Stalker”, a closing number, is claustrophobic, bleak and chaotic. It’s riff driven, highly-syncopated, broken, fragmented and slightly insane in a fantastic musical way. It has been compared to Fugazi and is apparently dedicated to Steve Albani, yet somehow it reminds me of what Black Flag/Henry Rollins Band did in the early 90’s on their “Weight” album.
There is not a bad song on “Kisses To Chaos”. The three remaining songs: “Functional Freeze”, “Post Apocalypse” and “Two Sides” can hardly be called fillers. In my opinion, they pale a bit in comparison to others, but are great tracks in their own right. I wish “Two Sides” was a bit longer, the song really could use another 30 seconds more to truly shine, but who am I to complain? When Izzy and The Black Trees are giving you a song, you take it and you say thank you.
“Kisses To Chaos” is an album that many AAA rock stars would kill to make. If it is not nominated to the Fryderyk award next year by the Polish Music Association, I will be severely disappointed. This is an album that everyone should have in their record collection.
In short – 10 stars out of 5. You are very welcome.
Please follow the band online:
https://www.instagram.com/izzyandtheblacktrees/
https://www.facebook.com/IzzyandtheBlackTrees
https://open.spotify.com/artist/4ovgRYo5Ud9pCee7LoD2B3
https://izzyandtheblacktrees.bandcamp.com/
https://soundcloud.com/izzyandtheblacktrees
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCNWta_37hGIGSdLo-zimgww
Rita Dabrowicz
Indieterria 