Late Arrival, Lasting Impact: Khan’s Ritualistic Masterwork
- Pat O Regan
- Jan 8
- 2 min read
Band : Khan
Album: The Fair and Warlike Form//Return To Dust
Released: 01-10-2025
Vinyl: Full Contact Safari Records
A new year may be underway, but there’s still plenty to celebrate from the last, chief among them this alternative prog-psych gem from Melbourne’s Khan. A late arrival, yet impossible to ignore, the record cut through the noise and earned a spot on countless AOTY lists, including my own. With the vinyl now finally in hand, there’s no better moment to give it the attention it deserves.
Khan’s The Fair and Warlike Form//Return To Dust doesn’t just sound big and imposing, it looks and feels like an artifact pulled from some parallel ritual culture. The album’s stark, enigmatic artwork sets the tone before a note is even played, hinting at both austerity and hallucination. On the beautifully pressed vinyl, that promise is fulfilled with the physical weight of the record mirroring the gravity of the music etched into it, as every rotation reinforces the sense that this was meant to be experienced slowly, deliberately, and loud.
Sonically, the album balances martial severity with a subtle psychedelic undercurrent. Guitars stretch and coil, their tones bending just enough to feel unstable, almost warping at the edges. Repetition becomes trance-inducing rather than monotonous as the rhythms lock into a hypnotic crawl that pulls you inward. The psychedelic element which I absolutely love never blooms into color-splashed excess, however it flickers beneath the surface, a mind-altering haze wrapped in iron discipline.
The production remains dry and cavernous, letting space and resonance do as much work as distortion. Moments linger and bleed into one another, making time feel elastic and making every minute worthwhile. There’s a stern beauty here on show here, sharpened by restraint but cushioned ever so subtly by atmosphere.
The Fair and Warlike Form//Return To Dust is an album to be absorbed as a whole, or in two parts! with the artwork, vinyl, and sound forming a unified experience. It’s severe, immersive, and quietly hallucinatory, rewarding patience with great depth and Aussie delight.
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