This is a post for Curiosity Corner. Until yesterday, I didn’t know there was such a thing as “doom folk”. But here it is – and with a 5-star review in The Guardian’s Sleevenotes column.

Folk songs are often inspired by tragic tales. It’s natural for them to be on the dark side of the global sound atlas. And very lovely they can be, too. But loud and aggressive is, surely, at the antipodes of the style sphere. It doesn’t seem as though a marriage of ‘folk’ and ‘doom’ could ever work. So, how can ØXN‘s brand-new album, CYRM, get such a glowing write-up? We’ll just have to listen to those songs, I suppose.

First, though, the independent review panel here wanted to know what the <bleep> those peculiar names mean. But the inscrutable Google guru doesn’t know (or deems us unworthy of the answer). Further searches suggest that ‘øxn’ might be the Irish for ‘oxen’, but the evidence is extremely thin. And this article in the Irish Times tells us that ‘cyrm’ is pronounced ‘sy-rum’, but it fails to translate it for us.

What, then, of the music? The best description I can come up with is that ØXN is the Joy Division of traditional folk – deeply depressing songs with a strangely alluring originality. And, in ØXN‘s case, skilfully arranged and beautifully performed. If you can cope with the dirge-like pace and gloomy overtones, there is much to admire in the six tracks on CYRM.

The Crotchety panel has endorsed The Guardian’s verdict. They have given CYRM a 5-dark-star rating. But we don’t advise listening if you are struggling with your mental health just now.