{"id":2068436,"date":"2026-07-29T09:00:47","date_gmt":"2026-07-29T06:00:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=2068436"},"modified":"2026-07-29T09:00:47","modified_gmt":"2026-07-29T06:00:47","slug":"opus-kink-the-sweet-goodbye-review-a-crepuscular-debut-that-might-have-missed-the-boat","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=2068436","title":{"rendered":"Opus Kink \u2013 \u2018The Sweet Goodbye\u2019 review: a crepuscular debut that might have missed the boat"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>[analyse_image type=&#8221;featured&#8221; src=&#8221;https:\/\/www.nme.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Opus-Kink-Credit-Maisy-Banks.jpeg&#8221;]<\/p>\n<article id=\"template-id-3332206\" class=\"post-3332206 tdb_templates type-tdb_templates status-publish post\">\n<div id=\"tdi_65\" class=\"tdc-zone\">\n<div class=\"tdc_zone tdi_66  wpb_row td-pb-row\">\n<div id=\"tdi_67\" class=\"tdc-row stretch_row_1400 td-stretch-content\">\n<div class=\"vc_row tdi_68  wpb_row td-pb-row\">\n<div class=\"vc_column tdi_70  wpb_column vc_column_container tdc-column td-pb-span12\">\n<div class=\"wpb_wrapper\">\n<div class=\"td_block_wrap tdb_single_featured_image tdi_71 tdb-content-horiz-left td-pb-border-top td_block_template_2\" data-td-block-uid=\"tdi_71\">\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<figure><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"696\" height=\"442\" class=\"entry-thumb\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nme.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Opus-Kink-Credit-Maisy-Banks-696x442.jpeg\" alt=\"Opus Kink - The Sweet Goodbye Review\" title=\"Opus Kink - Credit Maisy Banks\"><figcaption class=\"tdb-caption-text\">Opus Kink. Credit: Maisy Banks<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"tdi_72\" class=\"tdc-row stretch_row\">\n<div class=\"vc_row tdi_73  wpb_row td-pb-row\">\n<div class=\"vc_column tdi_75  wpb_column vc_column_container tdc-column td-pb-span12\">\n<div class=\"wpb_wrapper\">\n<div class=\"td_block_wrap tdb_breadcrumbs tdi_76 td-pb-border-top td_block_template_2 tdb-breadcrumbs \" data-td-block-uid=\"tdi_76\">\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span>Reviews<\/span><span>Album Reviews<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"td_block_wrap tdb_title tdi_77 tdb-single-title td-pb-border-top td_block_template_2\" data-td-block-uid=\"tdi_77\">\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<h1 class=\"tdb-title-text\">Opus Kink \u2013 \u2018The Sweet Goodbye\u2019 review: a crepuscular debut that might have missed the boat<\/h1>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"td_block_wrap tdb_single_subtitle tdi_78 td-pb-border-top td_block_template_2\" data-td-block-uid=\"tdi_78\">\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<p>Madness and menace abound on the jazz-punk band\u2019s long-awaited first album<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"td_block_wrap tdb_single_review_overall tdi_79 td-pb-border-top td_block_template_2\" data-td-block-uid=\"tdi_79\">\n<table class=\"td-review td-fix-index\">\n<tr class=\"td-review-footer rate_stars\">\n<td class=\"td-review-score\">\n<div class=\"td-review-overall\">\n<div class=\"td-review-final-score\">3<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"td_block_wrap tdb_single_author tdi_80 td-pb-border-top td_block_template_2 tdb-post-meta\" data-td-block-uid=\"tdi_80\">\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div class=\"tdb-author-name-wrap\"><span class=\"tdb-author-by\">By<\/span> Lisa Wright<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"td_block_wrap tdb_single_date tdi_81 td-pb-border-top td_block_template_2 tdb-post-meta\" data-td-block-uid=\"tdi_81\">\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><time class=\"entry-date updated td-module-date\" datetime=\"2026-07-29T10:00:47+01:00\">29th July 2026<\/time><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"tdi_82\" class=\"tdc-row\">\n<div class=\"vc_row tdi_83  wpb_row td-pb-row\">\n<div class=\"vc_column tdi_85  wpb_column vc_column_container tdc-column td-pb-span12\">\n<div class=\"wpb_wrapper\">\n<div class=\"td_block_wrap tdb_single_content tdi_86 td-pb-border-top td_block_template_2 td-post-content tagdiv-type\" data-td-block-uid=\"tdi_86\">\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<p>Timing, as they say, is everything. And, arriving almost 10 years since they first formed in Brighton, and more than four since their 2022 debut EP \u2018\u2019Til The Stream Runs Dry\u2019 tipped them for intriguingly grubby, underground success, jazz-punk band Opus Kink have taken the road to their debut album at a glacial pace.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>READ MORE: Growth, girlhood, and getting down: for FLO, \u2018Therapy At The Club\u2019 captures the spirit of life and love in your twenties<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>The reasons for \u2018The Sweet Goodbye\u2019\u2019s lengthy gestation are standard issue for a relatively small band: a classic mathematical problem of too many day jobs plus not enough time or money. But the musical landscape slows for no band, and the alternative world that Opus Kink find themselves returning to is a markedly different one to that in which they cut their teeth.<\/p>\n<div class=\"td-a-ad id_inline_ad0 id_ad_content-horiz-center\"><span class=\"td-adspot-title\">Advertisement<\/span><\/div>\n<p>Back in the earlier part of the decade, <i>NME<\/i> tipped them for hometown glory at 2022\u2019s The Great Escape, calling them a \u201cramshackle collective with a flair for the theatrics\u201d in a scene dripping with them. From the art-punk sensibilities of Deadletter to the mischievous spirit of fellow Brightonians KEG, the lingering influence of Fat White Family still remained strong and rock bands playing brass instruments had yet to reach peak Brixton Windmill-based saturation. Four years down the line, and Opus Kink have ostensibly levelled up by recruiting heavyweight producer Craig Silvey (Sam Fender, Florence + The Machine) behind the desk, but \u2018The Sweet Goodbye\u2019 can\u2019t help but sound like being in a sweaty festival tent half a decade ago.<\/p>\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Opus Kink - 'The Sweet Goodbye' (Official Music Video)\" width=\"696\" height=\"522\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/YaHl6_sOu-k?feature=oembed&amp;enablejsapi=1\" frameborder allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<p>Now, as then, there is still plenty about the sextet to like. The crepuscular, uneasy spirit of The Birthday Party reigns on \u2018The Sweet Goodbye\u2019\u2019s title track; a jazz-punk-country death rattle addressed to <i>\u201csweet Tallulah\u201d<\/i>. On \u2018The Head Tree\u2019, they recruit The New Eves for an incantational ode to Alice Molland, England\u2019s last condemned witch, while highlight \u2018I Have To Shine My Sunday Shoes\u2019 moves from dirgey beginnings to disco-tinged rhythms and raucous gang vocals.<\/p>\n<p>Throughout, frontman Angus Rogers\u2019 presence is that of the underbelly preacherman, spinning gothic tales of heads <i>\u201cbuckl[ing] like an old tin drum\u201d<\/i> on the shapeshifting \u2018Crucify!\u2019 or declaiming his <i>\u201cmind like a weeping cyst\u201d<\/i> on \u2018I\u2019m A Pretty Showboy\u2019. Musically, the group cut a Warmduscher-esque silhouette of mucky nocturnal melodies infused with a skulking danceability born for the twilight hours.<\/p>\n<p>\u2018The Sweet Goodbye\u2019 is the debut that Opus Kink should have made, but the problem with coming up amongst a scene is that the scene moves fast and what once sounded fresh can swiftly become old news. Give it a little more time and \u2018The Sweet Goodbye\u2019 might come into its own, away from the shadow of what recently went before. Right now, however, \u2018The Sweet Goodbye\u2019 sounds a little too much like Opus Kink retreading their own old ground.<\/p>\n<h3><strong>Details<\/strong><\/h3>\n<div class=\"td-a-ad id_inline_ad1 id_ad_content-horiz-center\">\n<h5 class=\"taboola-mid-article-title\">Recommended<\/h5>\n<\/div>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-3782516 alignleft\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nme.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Opus-Kink-The-Sweet-Goodbye-Artwork.jpg\" alt=\"opus kink the sweet goodbye review\" width=\"400\" height=\"400\"><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Record label:<\/strong> SO Recordings<\/li>\n<li><strong>Release date:<\/strong> July 31, 2026<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"td_block_wrap tdb_single_tags tdi_87 td-pb-border-top td_block_template_2\" data-td-block-uid=\"tdi_87\">\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<ul class=\"tdb-tags\">\n<li><span>Related Topics<\/span><\/li>\n<li>Alternative<\/li>\n<li>Indie<\/li>\n<li>Jazz<\/li>\n<li>Opus Kink<\/li>\n<li>Punk<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"tdi_88\" class=\"tdc-row\">\n<div class=\"vc_row tdi_89  wpb_row td-pb-row\">\n<div class=\"vc_column tdi_91  wpb_column vc_column_container tdc-column td-pb-span12\">\n<div class=\"wpb_wrapper\">\n<div class=\"vc_row_inner tdi_93  vc_row vc_inner wpb_row td-pb-row\">\n<div class=\"vc_column_inner tdi_95  wpb_column vc_column_container tdc-inner-column td-pb-span12\">\n<div class=\"vc_column-inner\">\n<div class=\"wpb_wrapper\">\n<div class=\"wpb_wrapper td_block_wrap vc_raw_html tdi_97 \">\n<div class=\"td-fix-index\">\n<h3>More Stories<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"td_block_wrap td_flex_block_1 tdi_98 td-pb-border-top td_module_flex_1--card td_module_flex_1--card--highlight td_block_template_2 tdc-no-posts td_flex_block\" data-td-block-uid=\"tdi_98\">\n<div id=\"tdi_98\" class=\"td_block_inner td-mc1-wrap\">\n<div class=\"td_module_flex td_module_flex_1 td_module_wrap td-animation-stack\">\n<div class=\"td-module-container td-category-pos-above\">\n<div class=\"td-module-meta-info\">\n                    Music News<\/p>\n<h3 class=\"entry-title td-module-title\">Watch Brandon Flowers debut new songs, air Killers classics and perform with Lucy Dacus and Nathaniel Rateliff at Newport Folk Festival<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"td_module_flex td_module_flex_1 td_module_wrap td-animation-stack\">\n<div class=\"td-module-container td-category-pos-above\">\n<div class=\"td-module-meta-info\">\n                    Music News<\/p>\n<h3 class=\"entry-title td-module-title\">Glen Hansard recently spoke of his powerful friendship with Pearl Jam\u2019s Eddie Vedder<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"td_module_flex td_module_flex_1 td_module_wrap td-animation-stack\">\n<div class=\"td-module-container td-category-pos-above\">\n<div 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class=\"td-page-meta\"><\/span><\/span><span class=\"td-page-meta\"><\/span><span class=\"td-page-meta\"><span class=\"td-page-meta\"><\/span><span><\/span><\/span><span class=\"td-page-meta\"><\/span><\/article>\n<\/p>\n<div class=\"td_block_wrap tdb_single_content tdi_86 td-pb-border-top td_block_template_2 td-post-content tagdiv-type\" data-td-block-uid=\"tdi_86\">\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<p>Timing, as they say, is everything. And, arriving almost 10 years since they first formed in Brighton, and more than four since their 2022 debut EP \u2018\u2019Til The Stream Runs Dry\u2019 tipped them for intriguingly grubby, underground success, jazz-punk band Opus Kink have taken the road to their debut album at a glacial pace.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>READ MORE: Growth, girlhood, and getting down: for FLO, \u2018Therapy At The Club\u2019 captures the spirit of life and love in your twenties<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>The reasons for \u2018The Sweet Goodbye\u2019\u2019s lengthy gestation are standard issue for a relatively small band: a classic mathematical problem of too many day jobs plus not enough time or money. But the musical landscape slows for no band, and the alternative world that Opus Kink find themselves returning to is a markedly different one to that in which they cut their teeth.<\/p>\n<div class=\"td-a-ad id_inline_ad0 id_ad_content-horiz-center\"><span class=\"td-adspot-title\">Advertisement<\/span><\/div>\n<p>Back in the earlier part of the decade, <i>NME<\/i> tipped them for hometown glory at 2022\u2019s The Great Escape, calling them a \u201cramshackle collective with a flair for the theatrics\u201d in a scene dripping with them. From the art-punk sensibilities of Deadletter to the mischievous spirit of fellow Brightonians KEG, the lingering influence of Fat White Family still remained strong and rock bands playing brass instruments had yet to reach peak Brixton Windmill-based saturation. Four years down the line, and Opus Kink have ostensibly levelled up by recruiting heavyweight producer Craig Silvey (Sam Fender, Florence + The Machine) behind the desk, but \u2018The Sweet Goodbye\u2019 can\u2019t help but sound like being in a sweaty festival tent half a decade ago.<\/p>\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Opus Kink - 'The Sweet Goodbye' (Official Music Video)\" width=\"696\" height=\"522\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/YaHl6_sOu-k?feature=oembed&amp;enablejsapi=1\" frameborder allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<p>Now, as then, there is still plenty about the sextet to like. The crepuscular, uneasy spirit of The Birthday Party reigns on \u2018The Sweet Goodbye\u2019\u2019s title track; a jazz-punk-country death rattle addressed to <i>\u201csweet Tallulah\u201d<\/i>. On \u2018The Head Tree\u2019, they recruit The New Eves for an incantational ode to Alice Molland, England\u2019s last condemned witch, while highlight \u2018I Have To Shine My Sunday Shoes\u2019 moves from dirgey beginnings to disco-tinged rhythms and raucous gang vocals.<\/p>\n<p>Throughout, frontman Angus Rogers\u2019 presence is that of the underbelly preacherman, spinning gothic tales of heads <i>\u201cbuckl[ing] like an old tin drum\u201d<\/i> on the shapeshifting \u2018Crucify!\u2019 or declaiming his <i>\u201cmind like a weeping cyst\u201d<\/i> on \u2018I\u2019m A Pretty Showboy\u2019. Musically, the group cut a Warmduscher-esque silhouette of mucky nocturnal melodies infused with a skulking danceability born for the twilight hours.<\/p>\n<p>\u2018The Sweet Goodbye\u2019 is the debut that Opus Kink should have made, but the problem with coming up amongst a scene is that the scene moves fast and what once sounded fresh can swiftly become old news. Give it a little more time and \u2018The Sweet Goodbye\u2019 might come into its own, away from the shadow of what recently went before. Right now, however, \u2018The Sweet Goodbye\u2019 sounds a little too much like Opus Kink retreading their own old ground.<\/p>\n<h3><strong>Details<\/strong><\/h3>\n<div class=\"td-a-ad id_inline_ad1 id_ad_content-horiz-center\">\n<h5 class=\"taboola-mid-article-title\">Recommended<\/h5>\n<\/div>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-3782516 alignleft\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nme.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Opus-Kink-The-Sweet-Goodbye-Artwork.jpg\" alt=\"opus kink the sweet goodbye review\" width=\"400\" height=\"400\"><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Record label:<\/strong> SO Recordings<\/li>\n<li><strong>Release date:<\/strong> July 31, 2026<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>[analyse_source url=&#8221;https:\/\/www.nme.com\/reviews\/album\/opus-kink-the-sweet-goodbye-review-3959547&#8243;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>[analyse_image type=&#8221;featured&#8221; src=&#8221;https:\/\/www.nme.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Opus-Kink-Credit-Maisy-Banks.jpeg&#8221;] Opus Kink. Credit: Maisy Banks ReviewsAlbum Reviews Opus Kink \u2013 \u2018The Sweet Goodbye\u2019 review: a crepuscular debut that might have missed the boat Madness and menace abound on the jazz-punk band\u2019s long-awaited first album 3 By Lisa Wright 29th July 2026 Timing, as they say, is everything. And, arriving almost 10 years [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[226,78],"class_list":["post-2068436","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-politics","tag-crawlmanager","tag-nme-com"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2068436","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2068436"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2068436\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2068436"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2068436"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2068436"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}