More about: Opus Kink

I’m a big believer that the best new music is often difficult to define – new sounds that are so different that you have trouble finding the genre touchpoint to adequately describe what you’re hearing. Even when you do find them, they still don’t quite nail down or do justice to the magic that is hitting your ears. It’s safe to say, Brighton-based six-piece collective Opus Kink very much fall into this category. 

Having already generated a lot of buzz off their excellent early singles, Opus Kink have now arrived with their debut EP ‘Til The Stream Runs Dry – and it is something quite special. Taking elements from punk, art-rock and experimental jazz, their sound is oddly familiar yet also completely fresh and exciting at the same time. Across the seven tracks here, they craft the perfect introduction to their unique sonic meanderings, which are full of raw energy, unconventional genre fusions and a noticeable flair for the dramatic. It’s angry, it’s fun and it’s just immensely impressive.

The ominous and ghostly 'Into The Stream' kicks off proceedings, a minute-long instrumental featuring sharp horns and distorted synths that sound like thunder claps, suggesting to the listener that a storm is brewing. That storm quickly arrives as the buzzy guitar riffs of 'I Love You, Baby' kick in, bringing with them some Idles-esque vigour, a bit of Madness-style knees-up entertainment and a cinematic smattering of Ennio Morricone-like brass. It shouldn’t work but it all gloriously melds together, combining for a wildly ferocious final 30 seconds that will leave your jaw on the floor. 

It's an incredible full throttle start, but Opus Kink manage to keep the momentum going. 'Dog Stay Down' is another eccentric horn-powered number that swaggers along before eventually erupting into a big crescendo. 'St. Paul of the Tarantulas' is the EP’s most overtly theatrical track, built around an upbeat piano melody and some grandiose operatic stylings. Again, this contrasting mix of raw, dirty punk fundamentals overlayed with majestic jazz symphonies shouldn’t work, but Opus Kink somehow manage to blend it together into an invigorating cocktail of sound.

'(I’m Going Down To That) Hole In The Ground' strips things back somewhat, starting out more minimal and bluesy to allow frontman Angus Rogers’ growling vocals to take centre stage. Once again the song comes alive in the final minute, with Rogers’ repeated cries of “YES” riding a wave of scratchy guitars, spooky synths and triumphant horns. This leads in perfectly to 'The Unrepentant Soldier', that starts off quite strikingly traditional with its spacey guitars, big upbeat organ keys and a thumping bassline. It doesn’t take long though before the listener is thrown back into the whirlwind, as a minute or so in the band begin to embark on a mesmerising jazz tangent. It continues to build from there, eventually bursting into screeches of “Let it flow” at the song’s climax.

Despite all this intoxicating wonderment, Opus Kink still manage to somehow save the best moment for last with the epic six-minute-long title track. Starting off with a rumbling of acoustic guitars and bass, the extravagant horn-led instrumentation soon begins to swell around Rogers’ vocals. As the pained cries of “I will be happy” ring out in the song’s final minute against a mind-blowing audio backdrop, it marks an exquisitely executed grand finale.

From start to finish this is a simply astonishing listen, remarkably accomplished and cohesive overall yet still wild and free-spirited in its individual compositions. Through serving up richly textured syntheses of sound that will frequently leave you dazzled, Opus Kink have more than earned their forthcoming ovation with this one.

‘Til The Stream Runs Dry is out now.

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More about: Opus Kink