One of the most original albums of the year is out on the 31st July on So Recordings.
Brighton’s Opus Kink are right towards the top of our ‘Bands we have not yet seen live’ list. Tales of their early gigs include stories of broken ribs, blood covered microphones and a ruptured spleen. Talk to anyone who loves live music and Opus Kink are highly likely to sneak into the conversation. All the tastemakers seem to rate them, though their jazz based elements have meant that hasn’t transferred into general listeners as much as you might expect.
Opus Kink formed in Brighton in 2017. Welcome to making music in the 21st century, where you can be popular, appreciated by critics and it still takes nine years before you can make a debut album. In fairness, of their three EPs released, a couple were quite chunky. They lie somewhere between post-punk and jazz-punk. There are a lot of interesting bands with a jazz-punk leaning at the moment, Maruja, King Krule and more.
Opus Kink’s material can be challenging at times; they are not afraid to delve into darker corners. Frontman Angus Rogers said, “‘The Sweet Goodbye’ is an album that attempts to corral the dreams, desires, neuroses, fears, musical, religious, sexual and historical obsessions of six people in the loose paddock of a rock & roll record. It’s about existential belligerence and making art as well as devastating loneliness, trousers, shoes, hard drinking and guns. Musically it constitutes an inadvisable tectonic crush of dance music, no-wave, rock & roll, jazz, cumbia and chanson. “
Opening track and single, ‘Come Over And Do Me Wrong’ is a belter of groove funk led by the bands impressive brass. ‘Will It Come For You?’ drags you in deeper. This is an album rich in atmosphere. Suddenly, synths are leading the way on ‘I’m A Pretty Showboy.’ The lyrics in the album sometimes unpack quite easily, at other points you are going to be dwelling on the meaning and ambiguities for quite some time.
Title track and single ‘The Sweet Goodbye’ is absolutely brilliant. It gives hints of Ennio Morricone and spaghetti western before going off in all sorts of directions. There is a choral speaking part reminiscent of Soviet era propaganda music. They will go anywhere for a track, and nothing is ever boring.
Everything keeps shifting, despite an overall feeling of coherence. ‘Peckham Nocturne’ does indeed reflect the feel of classical nocturnes filtered through a pure jazz filter. ‘I Have To Shine My Sunday Shoes’ starts like louche rock and roll before a beat kicks in, the band take the singing lead with low-key harmonies, Rogers responding to them.
Follow Brighton band The New Eves, a folk-punk outfit, provide the only guest spot on ‘The Head Tree.’ It helps create another richly atmospheric track. ‘448C (The Colour Of Love)’ could almost be early Madness. ‘Crucify’ is the pick of the non-single tracks on the album. A six-minute epic that mutates a number of times.
You haven’t heard anything quite this so far this year. The ambition and desire to create something entirely different are to be commended. The album is growing on me more with every listen, revealing new subtleties that I missed on the first listen. Now we just need to get to a live show.
Essential Tracks: ‘Come Over, Do Me Wrong,’ ‘Will It Come For You?’ ‘I’m A Pretty Showboy,’ ‘The Sweet Goodbye,’ ‘The Head Tree’ and ‘Crucify!’
UK Tour Dates:
31 JUL – Banquet, Kingston (UK)
1 AUG – Rough Trade Denmark Street, London (UK)
2 AUG – Rough Trade, Bristol (UK)
3 AUG – Rough Trade, Nottingham (UK)
4 AUG – Jacaranda, Liverpool (UK)
5 AUG – Vinilo, Southampton (UK)
6 AUG – Concorde II Terrace, Brighton (UK)
22 AUG – Green Man Festival, Brecon Beacons (UK)
28 AUG – Olympia, Liverpool (w/ Viagra Boys) (UK)
26 SEP – Float Along Festival, Sheffield (UK)
17 NOV – Bootleg Social, Blackpool (UK)
19 NOV – King Tuts, Glasgow (UK)
20 NOV – Wardrobe, Leeds (UK)
21 NOV – Band On The Wall, Manchester (UK)
22 NOV – Cobalt Studios, Newcastle (UK)
25 NOV – Thekla, Bristol (UK)
26 NOV – O2 Forum Kentish Town, London (UK)
28 NOV – Rescue Rooms, Nottingham (UK)
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