Gnoomes

* More wows from Wandering Oak here  *

Confronting 2026, hope can seem in short supply, as the most divisive and toxic voices worldwide are amplified amidst an ever rising temperature of conflict and alienation. Yet hope is abundant in 'Losey', the sixth release on Rocket Recordings from the mercurial duo Gnoomes. Here, all they've encountered forms fuel for transcendence in musical form. Just as this couple have taken a bold step into the unknown by leaving Russia and moving to Slovenia, so their music has followed suit and thrown off all shackles to flourish in a defiant show of vibrant and revivifying colour.

"The life of an immigrant is a strange thing" says the bands Sasha Piankov "But luckily, that glow music brings us has never faded, even though the emotional landscape has definitely shifted. Living in the countryside, partially in isolation, gave us space to be ourselves. It helped reduce the constant background anxiety we'd carried for most of our lives. We often say that moving from Russia wasn't just a political decision, it was a nervous system decision."

Yet whilst the music that Sasha and his creative and life partner Masha Piankova came up with is testimony to a liberating triumph against oppression and adversity, it also goes beyond. These luminous and life-affirming beyond-genre serenades speak to the manner in which physical constraints can give flight to songs that expand to untold dimensions.