Kuunatic – ‘Wheels of Ömon’ album review: a mythological journey mixing psychedelia with Japanese tradition
THE SKINNY: Narrative albums are a lost art in the modern musical age, where songs are quickly broken down into ten-second highlights for social media and those without an attention span. However, the album format has never truly lost its ability to tell an expansive overarching story, which is what Japanese psychedelic trio Kuunatic have been doing since their inception in the mid-2010s. Their early releases established the mystical land of Kuurandia, and their stunning sophomore album, Wheels of Ömon, expands upon this compelling universe.
According to the band themselves, Ömon is the sun of Kuurandia, and the new album details an entire orbit of that sun. While this premise might seem a little intense for first-time listeners, it is worryingly easy to become swept up in the captivating narrative created by the trio on this record. From the dark and brooding eight-minute opening track, Kuunatic accompanies the listener on this mythological journey, using a mixture of anthemic vocal harmonies, psych-rock riffs, and traditional Japanese influences.
Kuunatic have already demonstrated their aptitude for creating groundbreaking psych and garage rock through their earlier releases, but this record expands upon their repertoire by drawing heavily from the age-old sounds of Japan. Traditional instruments are blended seamlessly with modern influences, creating an album that exists somewhere between Iron Butterfly, Siouxsie and the Banshees, and the Azuma Kabuki Musicians.
Musically, Wheels of Ömon is an album of two halves. The first side is imbued with a dark sense of impending doom, accompanied by abrasive soundscapes and metal-influenced guitars on songs like ‘Disembodied Ternion’. Meanwhile, the second half of the record substitutes that darkness for lightness and naturalistic imagery. Still, the anthemic vocals and traditional Japanese influences remain – thanks in part to Ainu music aficionado Rekpo, who appears on the song ‘Kuuminyo’.
The Japanese trio expertly craft the narrative of this mythological landscape, taking listeners on a journey which rarely feels relaxing but is consistently captivating in its musical innovation and atmospheric quality.
For fans of: Doing lots of psychedelics and telling everybody you meet about a secret underground world you discovered while listening to Black Sabbath.
A concluding comment from a travel agent: “Come and visit Kuurandia, we have beautiful temples, picturesque landscapes, and more epxerimental psychedelia than Frank Zappa’s biscuit barrel.”
Wheels of Ömon track by track:
Release date: April 11th | Label: Glitterbeat
‘Yew’s Path’: Kuunatic emerge into their own mystical world, introducing the album with an eight-minute epic. It is a brooding epic awash with a dark atmosphere, providing an intriguing opening to this equally intriguing album. [4/5]
‘Mavya at the Lacus Yom’: Completely subverting the dark, abrasive album opener, the trio adopt an almost naturalistic approach on this song. Its beginning feels imbued with a tranquil, cinematic atmosphere, but as the song continues, the dark influences and anthemic vocals of Kuunatic begin to take over once again. [4/5]
‘Disembodied Ternion’: Over the course of this storming five-minute track, Kuunatic build to climax using metal-infused guitars and macabre vocals. The band might advertise themselves as a psychedelic outfit, but it is difficult to think of any song that would be more scary to listen to while tripping than this. [4.5/5]
‘Myth of Klüna’: Breaking up the tracklisting of the album, Kuunastic create a ritualistic world on this effort, made up of anthemic acapella harmonies which immerse the listener into the expansive world created by Wheels of Ömon. [4/5]
‘Yellow Serpent’: Marrying traditional Japanese musical styles with an innovative and distinctly modern take on experimental psychedelia, ‘Yellow Serpent’ is a gentler ride than some of the earlier efforts on this album, yet it remains captivatingly beautiful in its sonic offering. [5/5]
‘Kuuminyo (feat Rekpo)’: Largely focused around repetitive vocals, Kuunatic strip back their abrasive sound for this song, accompanied by Rekpo, a musician who has worked tirelessly to preserve the age-old musical traditions of the Ainu people. [4/5]
‘Halu Shanta’: As we approach the end of Kuunatic’s journey into the mystical land of their own creation, ‘Halu Shanta’ once again builds itself around repetitive, chanting vocals before delving into the peak of the trio’s psychedelic expertise on the second half of the song. [4.5/5]
‘Syzygy and a Counter Truth’: Closing out the album with a space-age electronic landscape which sprawls out into multiple different directions, Kuunatic do not offer a concise or clear end to the narrative, leaving the world created by the album free to develop further in the minds of the listener. [4/5]
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