Waterfall Cave Fantasy, Forever

Finnish avant garde, noise-rock two piece NYOS return with their sixth full-length release: ‘Waterfall Cave Fantasy, Forever’. Combining the mutant funk-punk looping of Battles and Tortoise with a cinematic wall of sound akin to that of post-rock titans Russian Circles, NYOS continue to contrast their outstanding compositional complexity with live improvisations. First explored on the 2022 LP ‘Celebration’, this newfound call and response creative freedom on ‘Waterfall Cave Fantasy, Forever’ sees NYOS reach new heights of playful chaos and uninhibited, soaring joy.

NYOS came to be when, in 2012, guitarist Tom Brooke took the plunge and left his hometown of Leeds in the UK for Finland, with dreams of establishing his own recording studio, Tonehaven, which now doubles up as the band’s HQ. Before long, Tom crossed paths with drummer Tuomas Kainulainen who, having cut his teeth in the local punk scene, was ready to start something new. The connection was instant, with the duo establishing their distinctive, restless blend of math-rock, free jazz and harsh noise and writing their debut release, 2015’s six-part single ‘Vltava’, within their first few practices.

The band haven’t stopped since then either, from releasing six full-length albums and dozens of singles to playing hundreds of shows around the world with international contemporaries including Zeal & Ardor, Esben & The Witch and The Comet Is Coming. With almost a decade of ceaseless creativity under their belts, the band’s forthcoming album finds NYOS exploring their unique dynamic as a duo; using crushing sawtooth distortion, delicate cymbal work and a powerful use of space to capture the immediacy and intimacy of their live shows to spectacular effect.

Already renowned for their inimitable control over layers of looped guitars and polyrhythmic percussion, ‘Waterfall Cave Fantasy, Forever’ sees Brooke and Kainulainen contrast their formidable precision with the chaotic potential of free-jazz inspired, call and response improvisation. Not only is this one-take compositional approach further testament to the astounding musical bond the friends share, it represents an exciting new chapter in NYOS’ sonic evolution that can be felt on this record as much as it can be heard.