catalogue

AND SO I WATCH YOU FROM AFAR

MEGAFAUNA (PELAGIC)

AND SO I WATCH YOU FROM AFAR - MEGAFAUNA 164678
format:
1 CD
release:
09.08.2024
label:
PELAGIC
item ID:
164678
barcode:
0198391399909
An all-encompassing aural assault, a force as unstoppable and fiercely alive as the tide. The post-rock powerhouse known as AND SO I WATCH YOU FROM AFAR do return with their 7th studio album, `Megafauna'.

The new album is headstrong exploration and heartfelt appreciation with all the intuition, intimacy and humour of four firm friends approaching their 20th year as a band.

The intent behind `Megafauna' is clear from the outset. Two guitars, bass and drums all recorded in a week erupt into effervescent life in an endorphin rush of collaboration and togetherness after the physical and psychological wilderness of isolation.

Lead single `Do Mo'r' is a preposterously playful collision of light-hearted guitar hooks, effortless jazz syncopation and the triumphant return of ASIWYFA's inimitable wall-of-sound distortion, whilst opening track `North Coast Megafauna' serves as an anthem for the whole album and perhaps for a band reinvigorated too; proudly wearing the joyously jarring confrontation of their sound on their sleeves.Elsewhere on `Megafauna', introspection and sombre sentimentality take centre stage with the downtempo `Years Ago' providing remarkable dynamic depth Megafauna' is the band's first new music since 2022's critically-acclaimed, limited released `Jettison', an ambitious multi-media ensemble piece packed full of experimentation and collaboration.

Jokingly referring to `Jettison' as the band's "mature record", guitarist Niall Kennedy frames the writing of `Megafauna' around the band's long-running mantra of `DO THE SCARY THING' which sees them constantly hurtling towards newness, towards progress, evolution and the unknown.

Whilst the new record is ASIWYFA taking on a more familiar, traditional form; in this post-'Jettison', post-pandemic world `Megafauna' is a deafening and defiant statement of intent from the band's propulsive core, celebrating togetherness over separation.

By the way, superb "Jettison" reissued now as well.
 
  • Tracklisting
  • 1.1. NORTH COAST MEGAFAUNA
  • 1.2. DO MóR
  • 1.3. GALLERY OF HONOUR
  • 1.4. MOTHER BELFAST (PART 1)
  • 1.5. MOTHER BELFAST (PART 2)
  • 1.6. YEARS AGO
  • 1.7. ANY JOY
  • 1.8. BUTTON DAYS
  • 1.9. ME AND DUNBAR