Irish instrumentalists A Burial At Sea are back with their second album entitled Close To Home. Now based in Liverpool the duo of principal songwriters Patrick Blaney and Dara Tohill composed this collection during lockdown. Not another one, you might think, but don’t run away as this is for the most part, a heady rush of enthralling music that brings in a host of genres and vibrant instrumentation. Created with a clear love for their homeland and childhood memories this album exudes feeling with every note.
‘Páirc Béal Uisce’ is a euphoric opening track that reveals itself with some dexterous percussion and flighty guitars over some glorious whooshing sounds that are like shooting stars. As the track takes flight, a multitude of brass instrumentation brings a rush of uplifting joy. If this is your introduction to A Burial At Sea you’ll be wanting to hear more. Named after some of the most stunning scenery your eyes can see, up on the north coast of Northern Ireland, ‘Tor Head’ features a jarring charge of riffs and pulsating drums bringing an energy to proceedings, after the laid back opening track. The guitars fizz and hurtle along before a halt allows the band to re-align with some And So I Watch You From Afar style guitars. The line between the two Irish bands blurs here considerably, but in a very good way. If anything, I yearn for ASIWYFA to get heavy like this, the way they used to.
‘Down To The Floor’ is a tasty wee boogie number with some tangy chops in there to help you groove. I guess the floor in the title could well be at the student disco because this would work just fine in said setting. A quiet passage near the end once again nods heavily to ASIWYFA. There’s a nice shift in dynamics for the military style rat-tat-tat-tat snare that pumps through ‘Hy-Brasil’. The sweet brass returns this time bringing a warm glow like an old bread advert. The gorgeous guitar lines that drop down are melodic and oddly familiar, before the track charges off for the finish line with a brilliant fusion of blast beats, roaring guitars, and triumphant brass.
I can imagine ‘GORSE BUSH’ being a real showstopper live, with maybe a set of rotating bright white lights rising over the crowd. The crowd that will be going apeshit over the myriad of twisty riffs and slamming drums. As the tempos shift and manipulate into something else, there’s a real uplifting moment where life feels good. ‘Objects Of The House’ drops the tempo way down for a reflective and downbeat ballad with ghostly vocals buried deep in the mix. For once A Burial At Sea sound like a different band, with their own unique identity. Continuing the relaxed mood, the shimmering ‘NEW Old’ is all heart-breaking guitars and languid tones. It almost feels like an easy listening ballad when some weary brass leans into the mix. But before long there’s a hefty drop of crushing guitars and drums to violently smash the ambience into tiny pieces. Was not expecting that.
The bizarrely named ‘Masterfred’ (after Dara’s Father) begins as another creaking ballad with some haunting vocals permeating the ether. Keeping us on our toes appears to be the prime function of some seismic drops of distortion and swooning guitar lines. This is where A Burial At Sea find their own “voice” by bringing in a wider range of sounds and styles from the earlier tracks. ‘Everything You Are Not’ builds on a tense loop of guitars and tippy tappy drums before brass heralds the arrival of the chopper squadron with some huge sounding drums and raucous guitars.
‘T.G.G.O.A’ is a beautiful track which dials down the guitars and drums to let the brass lead while a wee man talks of his time growing up by the sea, in the village of Cushendall, where Patrick was born and raised. Having been to this place of ornate beauty many times, this track really hit the heart. It’s quite remarkable and a real unexpected twist in this album that is quite the journey. Named in reference to the aforementioned village, ‘DALL’ is a surging closer bringing in all the elements from the early tracks on the album, crashing drums and cymbals, soaring brass and furious guitars. The middle section is dreamy and once again, totally unexpected, before the final flurry of joyous brass and swirling melodic guitar lines ease us on our way.
This album brought me much joy when I received it at the turn of the year. The doldrums of hardly anyone releasing music in December, then the slow pickup into January left me floundering for new music. But this album kept me going with some cracking tunes and energised post-rock which I always have a real yearning for. Early in my review I made reference to fellow Irish instrumentalists ASIWYFA. There is no getting away from the fact that the two bands sound very alike at times. Almost to the point if you had played me some of this album saying it was new ASIWYFA I would have believed it. But that band have tended to shy away from the sound that brought them success so I’m keen to hear another band take up the mantle. The second half of this record veers away into wider pastures though and that’s the beauty and subtle difference between the bands. I might be late to listening to A Burial At Sea but this album is an excellent starting point and it’s hard to believe this is only their second album. Close To Home is bursting with vibrant energy and was clearly created with passion and heart.
