ONDA

Four years ago, a trio of South Korean musicians played in London as part of the K-Music Festival and provided an exhilarating reminder that their country should not be known simply for K-pop, but for its bravely experimental folk-rock scene. Since then, Jambinai have become the recognised leaders of a genre in which guitars or electronics are matched against traditional styles and ancient instruments. Their unique style features constant switches between delicate passages and a blitz of noise.

Their third album achieves a remarkable balance. In part, it's more traditional than before, with the piri (oboe), haegeum (fiddle) and geomungo (zither) joined on some tracks by the yanggeum (hammered dulcimer) or the saenghwang (reed mouth organ). But at the same time, the now five-piece band sound even tougher and more rhythmic than ever, with the permanent addition of bass and drums. The result is a thrilling, constantly surprising set in which gently hypnotic passages suddenly giving way to a crash of guitars on ‘Sawtooth’, while the pastoral, ambient opening of ‘In the Woods’ – a 13-minute track inspired by concern about pollution – gradually builds to a frenzied climax. Elsewhere, there are eerie, chanted vocals on ‘Sun.Tears.Red’, a song about soldiers preparing for battle and death. Magnificent.