I’m not even exactly sure if this comes under the ‘freak-folk’ banner, but few acts seem more fitted to the genre term than A Country Practice. Across the nine tracks that makes up their debut album, the Brisbane-based trio delight in simultaneously leaning into and obscuring the tropes of classic folk, blending pastoral themes and rustic instrumentation with volatile synthesisers and eclectic programmed beats. It’s perhaps less surprising when you realise the group shares a member with idiosyncratic ‘grit-hop’ ensemble Spirit Bunny, whose overblown surrealist pop similarly revels in throwing listeners for a loop, but on I will leave this town while there’s still a light, these contradictions are even more pronounced, resulting in a serenely disorientating ride.

Opening track ‘Gardening concerns’ is quick to set the tone of the record. We’re instantly dunked into the band’s immersive world as a delicate nylon string guitar chimes alongside a glaring Casio keyboard, and before long, the track is overrun by looming synthesisers and a heaving drum machine groove, all while the trio’s humble vocals sound as affable and wide-eyed as ever. Next up, ‘When we were young and loud’ contorts a classic singer-songwriter tune into a sprawling, otherworldly soundscape, and ‘Little Birdie’ stretches out across six minutes of tinkling guitars, off kilter beats and lulling melodies.

From here on in, A Country Practice take ever opportunity they can to spiral off unpredictably, without skimping on the folksy charm or their gleeful irreverence. ‘Indooropilly’ is an addictively lopsided folk-pop tune, ‘The inundation into our room’ finds the trio at their most calm and composed, and ‘Sometimes I feel like a conduit between two worlds’ is a dark and murky droner that expands uneasily before shifting gears seven minutes in to reward listeners with some of their most playful hooks yet. By the time the album comes to a close with ‘The longest drought’, perhaps the most spirited moment on the record with its animated beat, jangling guitar and charismatic group vocals, we’ve been on one hell of a journey - but it’s also abundantly clear by the level of care and attention to detail across I will leave this town while there’s still a light, that it’s an album that will continue to keep giving with every relisten.