Haara: Lambs
Haara’s Lambs: A Psychedelic Folk Journey Across Borders
by Jack Rush
Swiss collective Haara step boldly into the spotlight with their debut full-length Lambs (via Rattler Records), a record that feels less like a collection of songs and more like a living, breathing soundscape. Drawing from world rhythms, psychedelic textures, and unconventional instrumentation, Haara create music that’s both grounding and transportive—a reminder of how art can provide stability during turbulent times.
The title track, “Lambs,” sets the tone with its inventive fusion of African and Caribbean grooves, hypnotic vocals, and kaleidoscopic instrumentation. It’s a track built for reflection, though not in the conventional sense—Haara invite listeners to briefly lose themselves in the swirl of sound and, in doing so, connect with something deeper.
Across eleven tracks, Lambs explores themes of roots, brotherhood, resilience, and fragility. The album thrives on contrasts: raw rock energy sits comfortably alongside samba warmth, cumbia pulse, and psychedelic folk dreaminess. Traditional instruments like the koto, oud, fula, and hang sit side by side with guitars bent into unfamiliar forms, creating an expansive, borderless sonic palette. Vocals inspired by global song traditions float over these layers, adding intimacy to the sweeping arrangements.
At its core, Lambs is about connection—and the ways we lose it. From reflections on human conflict and our fragile relationship with nature to stories of sacrifice and survival, each track acts as a chapter in a loose narrative journey. Haara describe it as “not a concept album,” yet the songs interlock with an almost novelistic flow, rewarding both casual listeners and those willing to dive into its depths.
The artwork underscores the record’s themes. The cover depicts a lamb fatally caught on a wire fence in its attempt to escape—an unsettling, distorted image that, when revealed unaltered on the back, shows both nature’s raw beauty and the tragedy of sacrifice. Shot on a farm in Yverdon-les-Bains, Switzerland, the imagery mirrors the music’s delicate balance between freedom and fragility.
Clocking in at just over forty minutes, Lambs is a record best experienced in moments of transition—sunset, perhaps, when light fades and introspection sharpens. It’s a debut that refuses to sit still, planting Haara firmly as one of the most ambitious new voices in global psychedelic folk. Lambs doesn’t just ask to be heard; it demands to be felt, lingering long after the last note fades.
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