And The Dead Tree Gives No Shelter by Oh Hiroshima
Release date: June 5, 2026Label: Pelagic Records
Founded in 2008, Swedish post-rock outfit Oh Hiroshima has spent nearly two decades carrying the torch for the genre, steadily evolving without compromising its artistic vision. Co-founders Jakob Hemström and Oskar Nilsson have built a distinctive sound through shimmering guitar textures, electronic elements, expansive soundscapes, and emotionally charged compositions that feel both intimate and cosmic.
Following five acclaimed studio albums, starting originally as a duo, then as a quartet which featured Simon Axelsson and Hemstrom’s younger brother Oskar Nilsson, then returning back as duo, from Resistance Is Futile to All Things Shining, the duo continues its creative journey with its sixth release, And the Dead Tree Gives No Shelter, arriving via Pelagic Records.
From the moment the opening track, ‘Servant of All’, erupts, the album immerses the listener in an overwhelming sense of impending catastrophe. Oskar’s thunderous, tidal-wave drumming lays the foundation for Jakob’s soaring guitar work, whose roaring textures and layered melodies evoke blaring alarms amid an unfolding apocalypse. The result is both cinematic and crushing, pulling the listener directly into the eye of the storm.
The album immediately reminded me of the atmosphere found on Black Mountain’s In the Future. Like that record, And the Dead Tree Gives No Shelter balances psychedelic, progressive, and post-rock influences with an eerie sense of tension. Oh Hiroshima, however, pushes the formula even further by incorporating shades of late-’70s and early-’80s gothic post-punk.
Echoes of This Mortal Coil, The Cure, Joy Division, Steven Wilson, and even moments reminiscent of Radiohead surface throughout the album, yet the band never sounds derivative. Instead, these influences become part of a sound that remains unmistakably their own.
‘Meridian’ opens with delicate acoustic strumming before gradually revealing a darker landscape, one that conjures images of a ruined Gotham City where chaos has consumed order. It’s a vivid, cinematic piece that builds patiently before unleashing its emotional weight.
‘Skeleton Key’ follows with a pulsing, fuzz-drenched bass line and rising metallic guitar textures that steadily prepare for battle. Jakob’s layered guitar arrangements are both intricate and explosive, while Oskar’s driving percussion keeps every shift perfectly grounded, allowing each crescendo to land with maximum impact.
Elsewhere, ‘The Tree of Life’ offers one of the album’s most mesmerising moments. Its eerie atmosphere and meditative, tribal pulse create a kaleidoscopic sense of wonder, providing a brief moment of reflection before the storm returns.
‘Broken Sunlight’ restores the album’s immense heaviness with a towering wall of sound, while “Ivory Town” unfolds like a haunted journey through forgotten ruins. Its mystical atmosphere recalls the work of Bo Hansson, particularly the Nordic, fantasy-inspired textures that defined his Lord of the Rings era.
The closing track, ‘Exit Cloud’, brings the album to a bleak yet compelling conclusion. Its ominous build and emotional weight occasionally recall the expansive melancholy of Radiohead’s OK Computer, but Oh Hiroshima ultimately shapes the piece into something entirely its own. It serves as a fitting finale to an album that explores destruction, isolation, and perseverance with remarkable conviction.
And the Dead Tree Gives No Shelter is not an easy listen, nor is it meant to be. It demands patience, rewarding repeat visits with new emotional and sonic discoveries. Oh Hiroshima has crafted an album that captures the frenzy of collapse, the silence of its aftermath, and the fragile hope that lingers between them. It stands as one of the band’s most immersive and accomplished works to date, further cementing their place among the most compelling voices in modern post-rock.
