It’s been three years since Fatalists released Unwelded – their sophomore album that introduced me to them in a manner that had me hitting the play button again as soon as it had finished. Always wondering what would come next, the arrival of Wayward Navigation has come along like an unexpected visit from your favourite psychic relative brandishing gifts galore! Three years in the making, they’ve yet again taken their sweet time with this and is shows – it’s a labour of love that will have you wanting more, and more, and more…………
The instant start of opener ‘Why Don’t You Stand’ brings you in immediately with the attachment of an aural seatbelt. You’re buckled up before you know it, so throw away your compass and map as these guys know exactly where you’ll be going over the next half an hour or so. Repeat journeys are recommended, and when doing so it’s recommended you look out of the window, as there are things you may have missed previously that will appear and change the auditory landscape.
As Zak Cotton sings “I could stay here forever” on ‘Skeleton Ship’, it’s hard not to think the same thing when listening to this album – creating an atmosphere that’s not unfamiliar to those good old ATP gigs when you knew bands were going to be there, and you weren’t chasing your refund like a fucked off Wile E. Coyote. Anyway, I digress- the point being that Fatalists wouldn’t have gone amiss on an Albini curated festival as such, and I think they’d have been a highlight of it too.
‘Bitter Blood’ finishes off the circle of the loop of continuous playbacks, creating “memories dancing round and round and round’’, a lyric that’s genuinely appropriate for the constant delights brought to your ears. I could go on about each track for ages, but that’s for you to discover – you can thank me later. The Juxtaposition of the bludgeoning tight rhythms of the bass and drums, along with the melodic and sometimes loose guitar riffs work so well together, and it’s a testament to the band honing their craft yet again to build upon the sonic foundations laid by their previous two albums.
There’s an evolution here that should be savoured, and I highly recommend that you go and enjoy their entire discography – for this is a band that should be up there with the best of ‘em, and Wayward Navigation sits among some of the finest releases so far in 2017.
