Ruins

On their past two records. UK quartet Wolf People have faithfully nodded to early-1970s folk, psych, prog and the proto-metal of bands like Dust, Iron Claw and even Jethro Tull, all while not leaning too heavily on any single one. Ruins is also shrouded by dark Bedfordshire Forest woodland, but this time more guitars come out to play. Opener “Ninth Night” delivers immediately heavy fuzz and spaced-out swirls, and “Rhine Sagas” shows the crackling guitar work of Jack Sharp and Joe Hollick. Once the journey begins on the seven-minute “Kingfisher,” flutes, acoustic guitars and female vocals begin to emerge from the wood. Sharp’s vocals remain demure throughout, maintaining a certain tranquility, even as the music builds like a tornado on the move. Wolf People never completely have an eye on destruction, pulling back before things come completely unhinged. But Ruins is the band’s heaviest, and most consistent, record yet, one that will satisfy folkies and heshers alike.