There are times when you just want to shun the noise and look inward. OSI AND THE JUPITER'S latest EP, "Appalachia," is the perfect vehicle. From Kent. Ohio, and named after singer/instrumentalist Sean Kratz' German shepherds, Osiris and Jupiter, this is "neo-folk/Norse folk music" (as their Bandcamp bio says) – the three-track album follows 2019's "Nordlige Runaskog."

The opener, "They Ride Through The Sky On Horse-Drawn Chariots" (featured in the short dance film "Lost Identity," directed by British filmmaker Ruth Holder) starts out very faintly, indeed as if you are gazing at the sky. A mournful, almost heartbroken cello melody backed by a spare, stark keyboard sound follows, then a bit more depth is added with heartbeat-like single pulses of rhythm. That melody develops in complexity with runs and riffs and resolves on an almost hopeful chord. It's extremely evocative and likely suited the film – described on IMDB as one that "explores how we change ourselves, altering our appearance and behavior in order to please other people and the emotional and mental impact that has on us" – very well.

The acoustic guitar of the title track fits the title exactly as one would expect – it has that rugged, wide-open, and, yes, folky sound. The melody the guitar establishes stays the same throughout, which too is a folk technique. Sean sings in a gentle, ragged tenor that pushes with and slightly against and adjacent to the rhythm of his guitar. More of that stunning cello after the verse and atonal backing vocals add to this rather tragic and chilling lyrical tribute to his home area.

"The Binding Will Of Mountains" (the final track and the longest at over 12 minutes) starts with a drone, the cello and what sounds like organ as well. This kind of borders on chamber music in many ways – it's slow and barren, the cello giving it that crossover quality that straddles classical and folk. When it adds the overdubbing of more cello in a counter melody, it's lovely. This introduction heads into an acoustic portion with Sean delivering another paean, this time to the woods, to the mountains, to the healing, ancient power of nature. A cello segue introduces a more rollicking, strumming guitar section that gives it a groove on which to anchor. Again, the guitar melody stays exactly the same each time it's played, with an intriguing little catching rhythm each time it ends and begins anew. The vocals become a choir, with several voices singing the verse several times, adding to that hypnotic, dreamy quality – it's earthy and ethereal at the same time.

This brief bit of an album is mood music, compelling and stark, to be listened to at night, maybe, on a late drive down a lonely road, or in your room with the blinds drawn – when you need to heal, or focus, or have a catharsis.