Album review: KOYO – Onism

Very much not to be confused with the Long Island hardcore band of the same name, this KOYO are alumni of the prestigious Leeds Conservatoire, with the musical chops to match. Only now getting back on track after this decade’s unfortunate start, their return sees them throw four years’ worth of ideas at their third record. It’s a tactic they pull off by the skin of their teeth. Opening an album with a genuinely irritating track is certainly a bold move: if ever a riff could be said to be smug, it’s the first one you hear on La Cucaracha. Proceed beyond this fumble, however, and there is plenty to recommend across Onism’s 49 minutes. If their signature sound shares a certain progginess and groove with Supermassive Black Hole-era Muse, with shades of QOTSA ...

unsplash-logoLilith Redmoon