Slow burning Swedish post-rock act Oh Hiroshima have released their fifth full-length album, “All Things Shining” via Pelagic Records. Pared down to a brotherly core, the record sees Oh Hiroshima expand further into new sonic territory as they champion the power of wonder and awe in an age of faded youth and jaded disenchantment.
Founded over 15 years ago as a DIY post-rock recording project in Kristinehamn, Oh Hiroshima has steadily outgrown its hometown to become a highly regarded studio and live project within the international post-rock scene. With four diverse albums already to their name encompassing elements of shoegaze, electronica, post-punk and danceable indie-rock, ‘All Things Shining’ is a landmark evolution in the band’s songwriting and soundcrafting.
Having found themselves a loyal fanbase as a four piece with their 2015 sophomore record ‘In Silence We Yearn’, the process of writing, recording and touring subsequent albums, 2019’s ‘Oscillation’ and 2022’s critically acclaimed ‘Myriad’, the band gradually boiled down to brothers Jakob and Oskar as they continued to hone their skills.
With ‘Myriad’ a brooding kaleidoscope of thunderous drums, reverberating guitar feedback and ethereal synth sounds courtesy of Kristian Karlsson (Cult of Luna, pg.lost, Soars), ‘All Things Shining’ is Oh Hiroshima refining this complex sound further still. Already renowned for their command of panoramic, compositional atmospherics, this new collection of songs consciously leaves space for singer and guitarist Jakob’s lyrics and vocal delivery and brings a striking yet delicate intimacy to Oh Hiroshima’s formidable sonic palette.
Working again with Karlsson as keyboard player and co-producer, as well as fellow Cult of Luna member Magnus Linberg who mixed and mastered ‘Myriad’ too, the brothers embraced the challenge of their lineup change as a way to push themselves into uncharted creative space, to make the best of their tight-knit bond. As such, ‘All Things Shining’ wrestles with difficult questions surrounding purpose, meaning and concerns of a generational ambivalence spreading across Western society.
All of this comes to a bristling, bracing head on ‘Holiness Movement’, the new album’s driving yet melodic nadir. Jakob and Oskar explore the uncomfortable balance between pride and persecution through a sonic juxtaposition of organic, crystalline synth tones and harsh, overdriven abrasion whilst tender lyrics wrestle with nationalistic tendencies and how quickly they can turn towards violence.
Simultaneously personal and universal, ‘All Things Shining’ is a breathtaking exploration of the duplicitous nature of time and ageing; the double edged sword of amassing life-affirming experiences that inevitably dim our perception of the world around us. However, as the title suggests, Oh Hiroshima are adamant that all is not lost; with songs inspired by timeless works of literature and defining moments that have since proved pivotal for Jakob and Oskar throughout their lives, ‘All Things Shining’ is a reminder that, against all odds, the world will always find a way to reclaim its spark and mystique.
Oh Hiroshima on ‘All Things Shining/Holiness Movement’:
“‘Holiness Movement’ is one of our personal favourites on the record as
we used so many different instrumental elements, some tried and trusted
and some entirely new to us, to reach the sound we were aiming for with
this new album.”
Tracklist:
- Wild Iris
- Holiness Movement
- Swans In A Field
- Secret Youth
- Rite of Passage
- Deluge
- Leave Us Behind
- Memorabilia
