It’s truly hard to believe that And So I Watch You From Afar are approaching their 20th year in existence. For their seventh studio album, Megafauna, the band sound as vibrant and defiant as ever, despite their career having as many dips and rises as the Big Dipper in Barry’s Amusements. With Ewen Friers now on bass, the line-up of Rory Friers (guitar), Niall Kennedy (guitar) and Chris Wee (drums) the band now find themselves on the excellent Pelagic label. Recorded in a week, Megafauna features 10 tracks of exhilarating instrumental tunes that show there’s no sign of this machine stopping any time soon.
With their debut eponymous album and the follow-up Gangs, the band found themselves garnering huge amounts of praise for their ability to fuse wondrous melody to hefty riffs. With a real knack for dynamics, they became an irresistible force as a live band touring the world. An extended play would quickly follow, the Letters EP that edged the band into the realms of math rock. Shorter and sharper in the shocks department this new sound would become a staple of their sound for years to come. They followed this all up with the Tonight The City Burns EP, which featured guest vocalists from the local scene (including some chancer called Geoff Topley). There seemed no end to the ideas and directions the band could venture into. A label change to the US based Sargent House label saw the band release the All Hail Bright Futures album, which really saw the band veer into some strange territory with sonic experimentation overload in some parts. Heirs found them utilising vocal embellishment again, I found this album a more enjoyable experience with some lovely new guitar textures appearing. There seemed to be an intent for an uptake in metallic riffs with the powerful The Endless Shimmering in 2017 but this album found them leave Sargent House and then Covid appeared.
For a band like ASIWYFA, whose very livelihood and reason to be is getting out on tour, this could have been the end of the band. Ever determined to keep going, they took themselves away and recorded the Jettison album and accompanying film. This record was quite the departure featuring a string quartet, yet it was an important release as it kept the band going and the newfound ability to mix strings with their music would feature on their next recording. Touring with Rory’s wee brother Ewen on bass led to the natural progression of him coming on board permanently. If you’re familiar with Ewen’s other projects, Axis Of and Catalan, you’ll know he has a real ear for melody and his bass playing style is fluid and groove orientated. There’s no doubt he has influenced the direction Megafauna has taken.
The album opens with the all-out banger ‘North Coast Megafauna’. Clean guitars duel like they used to on their debut, before jumping headfirst into a chunky barrage of staccato riffs. The new bass stylings from Ewen provide a new vibrancy in the rhythm section. Coming from the North Coast of their country there’s often a nod to the sea and Ewen’s other act Axis Of frequently dipped into music that was almost sea shanty. There’s a wee section here too that is buoyant and cheeky. You can’t count the number of false endings there are to this tune as it keeps coming back at you for one more bone crunching onslaught of hefty riffs.
‘Do Mόr’ once again begins with a nod back to their earlier releases with clean guitars weaving folky melodies. I like the way there’s a real purge of their back catalogue here as the track moves into a metallic section that is very reminiscent of the Letters EP Rory starts to go gizmo crazy with some swooping guitars and then we hit a floaty section that sounds very familiar too. The lead up to the explosive finale reminiscent of ‘D is For Django’ from the Letters EP. ‘Gallery of Honour’ charges along at breakneck speed, the closest ASIWYFA have come to thrash, before pausing for some elegant passages of melody and a plethora of freaky sounds. The dreamlike passage where guitars sound like harps and pianos twinkle like fireflies, is truly spectacular. Every listen reveals new sounds, the levels of detail are extraordinary.
Lovingly referencing the city where they cut their teeth, ‘Mother Belfast (Part 1)’ finds the swirling effects that permeated the Heirs album get a chance to shine again. The lowkey Jettison album is recalled with the swerving off kilter string swings that featured there. As the track moves along it’s like a compendium of multiple tracks all seamed together as the dynamics build into a manic section of duelling guitars twisting and turning impossible riffs. I’ve no idea how they pieced this astounding track together and wish them the best of luck trying to play it live! ‘Mother Belfast (Part 2)’ literally bounces with a pumping beat fused with pianos and Ewen’s menacing bass before erupting into a smorgasbord of metallic riffs and Chris Wee’s percussive creativity, as the kit gets one hell of a workout. The fills and strings that flicker in the background show a band at the height of their powers. Think there’s not much mileage left in being an instrumental rock band? Think again, as the layers and dynamics of this track are mesmerising.
‘Years Ago’ will be a familiar track if you’ve caught the band live in the last year. This track was written during the pandemic as the band longed to get back doing what they love, playing their music for their fans and bringing the noise. The delicate shimmering passages are tender and heart breaking. When it feels like Wee’s drums can’t get any slower they switch to a choppy section of melodic riffing and machine gun beats. Ewen flexes some jazzy bass grooves momentarily before the epic finale brings the house lights on and the house down with euphoric melodies.
‘Any Joy’ tones down the metal aspect and nods to Jettison again with some gorgeous strings. Erupting into a brief explosion of euphoric joy the track drops into a melancholic ending where the magnificent strings hit the heart. Like ‘S is For Salamandar’ off the Letters e.p. the punky ‘Button Days’ is all spiky riffs jabbing at you, leaving you bloody and bruised. As the track ends there’s a manic passage of bonkers percussion where everything and anything gets slapped or whacked. It’s as loose as the band have ever been, needless to say it’s the only track on the album I’ve yet to warm to.
Album closer ‘Me and Dunbar’ is a tribute to their late friend Andrew Dunbar, a local hero of Portrush who loved to surf and skate and feature prominently at their shows in the local bar The Atlantic. (Sadly, that bar no longer exists, replaced by an ugly apartment block, and the mural painted on the side of the building of Andrew is lost, which is a complete shame). Beginning with some tender clean guitars the track switches to a bombastic and defiant passage like crashing waves in the Atlantic Ocean. Halfway through the track the melody spins, and you can sense the build up to the spectacular closing passage of joyous melodies and thunderous drumming from Chris. The guitars harmonise like Thin Lizzy used to do, and the final minute fizzles as the guitars fade and Wee is left hammering out a defiant beat.
On my first listen to Megafauna, I was left in an excitable state that the sounds were so closely aligned to ASIWYFA and Gangs. Those two albums were what propelled the band to global levels of recognition and are my favourite recordings. Which isn’t to say that their now extensive back catalogue doesn’t feature some amazing tracks, but as a whole body of work, those two albums really gelled. Trying out different sounds and exploring themes found the band unafraid to try new things but the live shows often retread back to the early favourites. I caught the band in December, for the first time in years and was a little fearful of their future. I think I can put it down to an off night for either me or the band as another recorded show this year sounded fantastic. Megafauna is a rebirth of sorts for And So I Watch You From Afar pulling together all the best bits from their previous work to stunning effect.
