HEXVESSEL

Kindred

SVART

Finland’s pagan folk-psych troupe delve back into the wilderness

is Hexvessel’s second. Both mark a return to folkier, forest-dwelling climes after the shift to heavy, electrified grooves and Doors-esque psychedelia of 2016’s . Opener is part mellifluous folklore, part lysergic freak-out. Lead single is a lazy blues ballad. The muted trumpet of is the sound of smoke-filled speakeasys. An Englishman willingly lost in the Finnish wilderness, singer/songwriter Mat McNerney’s rarefied earthen tones morph from whisper to tumult throughout the record, proving spellbinding on the harmonised séance that is closer . Running just shy of 40 minutes, isn’t Hexvessel’s defining statement, but it is a wonderful place to hide; a gateway to a solemn, dreamlike realm that offers refuge from the vagaries of the everyday.