Often Sometimes Rarely Never return with “Nature Against Nature,” a wiry, instrumental sprint that feels beamed in from the more unhinged corners of the late-’00s prog revival. It’s an off-kilter slab of frenetic precision: knotty time signatures snap against each other, guitars jut out at right angles, and the low end pivots between lockstep propulsion and sudden negative space. Post-rock’s widescreen patience is here too in parts but shifts away from the norm.

There are no lyrics, which only sharpens the sense of narrative. The track opens in a fit of restlessness and angular guitars before slipping into a cool, contemplative middle passage that resists mysticism in favour of something more terrestrial and clear-eyed. Then comes the closing move , a satisfyingly blunt, arena-sized riff that lands like a punchline and lingers like a bruise.

It’s an impressive racket for two instruments. (Technically, there are guest vocals with the disembodied “arrrrghs” coming courtesy of their theatre collaborators, sampled from a stage production. 

Often Sometimes Rarely Never have operated as a two-piece instrumental unit for years, gigging with a frequency that mirrors their name. Real-life commitments slow the roll but this is a band who don’t want to stop so go check them out and give them more gigs!