Back catalogue: Post Rock/Experimental

Review: Led by the incomparable Sami Albert "Witchfinder" Hynninen (Reverend Bizarre, The Puritan, The Candles Burning Blue), Opium Warlords are the lo-fi, sultry, genre-less playground where all of the sonic auteurs most insightful and bizarre predilections come to life. Described as an audible melting pot of "pussy techno, sludge, industrial pop, hardcore punk, drone, shamanistic pulse, noise, heavy metal, old school gothic rock and march music", Strength is the sixth full-length from the mysterious project which essentially guarantees from the outset that you're entering into an utter mess of ideas, yet reliably reigned into one cohesive vision. While compared to the oppressive gloom of 2020's Nembutal, the material here benefits from brighter synths and glossier production yet underpinned with a macabre and alienating dissection of Machiavellian and Nietzschean philosophies of strength and elitism. That's when the lyrics aren't directly pulled from the back of shampoo bottles. Confused? Good, that's the only requirement for entry

Review: There are debut albums, and then there are debut albums that stop you dead, force you to take note, and proceed to unfold in the most startling directions. Welcome to the world of OXN, an Irish folk band, of sorts, featuring two members of Lankum and an awful lot of fresh ideas. Operatic, theatrical, cinematic, experimental trad, anyone? If that sounds even remotely intriguing the best news is yet to come - we've barely managed to hit the hammer even close to the nail's head with our description. It's weird, it's unsettling, born from pure emotion and just a few sprinkles of the same magic that has blessed the Emerald Isle with so many evocative and highly original musicians.