Pinkunoizu – Free Time!

Though based in Copenhagan, Pinkunoizu foreground multicultural aspirations via a Japanese name (‘pink noise’) and lyrical references to the Arab Spring. Their capacity for pretentiousness is pushed higher by chief songwriter Andreas Pallisgaard’s high-falutin’ talk of “the most incomprehensible mysteries of being,” and woolly lyrics noting “endless loops of American troops.” Cyborg Manifesto, meanwhile, bumps feminist credentials into the liberal-minded melting pot, just to really hammer home the breadth and depth of their cultural horizons – a recipe for eye-rolling if ever there was one.

Yet while some of their longer pieces might test the patience, there’s always some element in the mix to refocus attention – in The Abyss, for example, the extended guitar solo that awakens four minutes in; in Death is Not a Lover, some rather odd Gregorian chants. That they accommodate their diverse reference points so effortlessly merits an ovation, their layered jams producing exotic results from colourful influences.