With their ever-mutating brand of jazz-and-country-laced punk, Opus Kink have always cut a singular figure in a saturated landscape. Making their name with incendiary, cult-like live shows, the band – formed in Brighton in 2017 – have developed a sound as elusive as it is recognisable.
Underscored by a formidable horn section and ragged, sardonic delivery, the band bear passing resemblance to post-punk and no-wave acts like The Pop Group, Birthday Party and Lounge Lizards, but it’s the weaving of older, more traditional influences – choral, folk, country, Latin, Weimar cabaret, cruise-ship-crooning – into the fabric of their music that sets them apart. Through their songs concerning violence, evil, shame, troubled sexual politics, anxiety and emptiness, all served with a wry absurdist bent, Opus Kink craft an alluring nether-world for their voracious audiences to plunge into.
Opus Kink are performing live on the Terrace of the Concorde 2 in Brighton on Thursday 6th August courtesy of JOY. promoters – Purchase your tickets HERE.
Wanna know more about the band and their live performances? Then here’s our review of them at the Komedia as part of last year’s ‘Brighton Psych Fest’:
Opus Kink are a band who’s name I have heard many times, I always remember hovering over their purchase button whilst shopping on Nice Swan records website wondering whether to make a purchase or not, considering they are band that originated here in Brighton in 2017, I should have heard their music or seen them, but alas that has not been the case.
Tonight I am making amends and making sure I squeeze in what will be my final set of the evening and judging by the capacity crowd of young lively people I don’t think I am going to be disappointed.
Opus Kink are a six piece band made up of Angus Rogers (lead Vocals, Guitar), Sam Abbo (Bass, Backing Vocals), Fin Abbo (Drums), Jack Banjo Courtney (trumpet), Jazz Pope (Keys, Synth, backing vocals), and Jed Morgans (Saxophone), their sound is post punk indie rock infused with some jazzy flavours.
This was a true stomper of a set, a real baptism for me in terms of their music, a mega hour long set of 11 cracking songs that took in 2 songs a piece from their EPs ‘My Eyes Brother!’ and ‘Til The Stream Runs Dry’, and the remaining songs from what I imagine will be on their forthcoming debut album.
The set started with the explosive ‘The Sweet Goodbye’. Sadly during their third song ‘Dust’ Angus lost all noise from his guitar and ended up playing the bulk of the song sans guitar, considering I’d not seen or heard them before, the song still sound bloody excellent to my ears, it’s not like you are lacking sound what with the trumpet, sax and keys. A new jack lead was brought on stage and the guitar sound was revived for ‘I Wanna Live You’, a song about not having a girlfriend, we were told.
The set continued as it meant to go on, a visual and audio spectacle treat, at times delivered in a dark and brooding way, such as ‘Malarkey’. Angus Rogers is a force to be reckoned with, you don’t want to take your eyes off him, he totally commands the stage and audience later asking the crowd “Are you well, yes?….well we had better do something about that”. Then you have Jazz Pope with his menacing stares seeking out audience members to penetrate with his eyes, his backing vocal screams into his microphone, towards the end he grabbed his tambourine and leapt atop of the punters and was crowd surfed around throughout the whole song whilst banging the tambourine, whilst Angus stood at forefront of the stage leaning out playing his guitar screaming his lyrics. Don’t forget the rest of the band, Sax, Trumpet, bass and drums, they were all full on at it, moving, jumping about.
The final song of the evening was the brilliant ‘Crucify’ a massive finishing song for a crowd that were one of the liveliest I’ve seen in a long while, lots of moshing and jumping about, many a time I fell forward on to the stage, Opus Kink were more than deserving for tonight’s headline slot at the Komedia, I can’t wait for the debut album. (Reviewed by Ben ‘Jerry’ Robinson)
