Opus Kink deliver a jazzed-up, filth-fuelled Danse Macabre for their second EP, ‘My Eyes, Brother!’.
From the muddy depths of some cavernous underground crypt erupts the doom-laden poetry and jazzed-up brass explosion of Opus Kink’s second EP, ‘My Eyes, Brother!’.
Revelling in the same deranged underworld of their first EP, ‘’Til the Stream Runs Dry’, their second, released once again via cult indie label Nice Swan Records, resides in an even darker, cobwebbed corner.
Opus Kink’s vivid world building is as impressive as their electrifying live shows. This EP is no different. If anything, it delves deeper into their debauched, ferocious, moth-eaten narrative. Fully immersed in the Danse Macabre, a medieval artistic genre of allegory on the universality of death, the tracks summon a string of narrators lamenting, squirming, and roaring at the tragedy of humanity. Providing the same memento mori as its medieval counterpart, the EP offers this dance beside the grave with lyrics that touch on the fragility of life and its vanities, “You could have been someone” croons frontman Angus Rogers in ‘Dust’, “But we had plans for you, climb into the back seat, we’ll all go smiling to the dust.”
Described by Rogers as a loose collection of dream and nightmare sequences, the unhinged cabaret that ensues is unwavering in intensity and propelled by show-stealing shrieking horn sections, rich basslines, and a demented synth.
Swaying into being, ‘Chains’ makes full use of the band’s masterful saxophone and trumpet, accompanied by a ghoulish chorus that punctuates grating grumbling and shrieks. ‘Dust’ follows with the tinny rhythmic clashing of a death bell, the same din of voices underpinning Rogers’ lamentations. Its jazzy end meets the cacophonous racket of the latest release ‘Children’, and the tinkling piano and distorted hazed instrumentals of ‘Tin of Piss.’ Easily the most interesting track on the EP is the twisted writhing of ‘Malarkey’. With a steadier build than the rest of the tracks, the bass takes centre stage carefully guiding voice and brass to blood-curdling eruptions. The quietly mumbled poetry of ‘Piping Angels’ is thick and dream-like and leads unnervingly to the EP’s triumphant and crazed end at ‘1 : 18’.
‘My Eyes, Brother!’ is a satisfying continuation of Opus Kink’s niche, one which strengthens their identity both visually and sonically. The most exciting takeaway is the promise of its live delivery. If past performances are anything to go by, the confidence that is now fully formed in the EP’s explosive instrumentals and confronting lyricism will make for one of the most deafening and exhilarating live shows you’ll ever see.
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