Avant-pop quartet Hen Ogledd’s Discombobulated is fine chaos

HEN OGLEDD

Discombobulated (Weird World)

Richard Dawson has described Hen Ogledd, his collaborative project with Rhodri Davies, Sally Pilkington and Dawn Bothwell, as “really not like a normal band”. Never were truer words spoken. Exhibit A: Discombobulated’s extraordinary lead single Scales Will Fall, an eight-minute-long anthem for a new people’s revolt – a rousing rallying cry for marching into battle against “corporate greed and corporate law” that somehow incorporates Dawson’s guitar wizardry, a medieval fanfare chorus and Bothwell’s Scottish “bard rap”.

In holding a mirror up to contemporary reality, the album is understandably complex, bewildering and (yes) discombobulating – but also frequently brilliant. It’s overtly political too; Dead In A Post-Truth World picks up where Scales Will Fall left off, savaging Reform’s false promises and scapegoating and the toxic influence of the right-wing media.

But there is solace to be found in nature (Clear Pools), and “kinetic, catalysing” resistance to be found in dancing (End Of The Rhythm). As fractured, deliriously chaotic and downright weird as Discombobulated is, it’s a call for unity and a call to arms.

words BEN WOOLHEAD