And So I Watch You From Afar - Megafauna

A Closer Listen

Belfast post-rockers And So I Watch You From Afar first appeared on our radar with “Set Guitars to Kill,” the opening track of their 2011 debut album.  Those hard riffs, time signature changes, and occasional vocal expulsions are now hallmarks of their sound. ASIWYFA has experimented over the years (notably on their last record), but has never strayed far from their roots.  Now on their seventh studio album, the band demonstrates why they are festival favorites.

We were sold on this album as soon as we saw the video for opening track and new single “North Coast Megafauna.”  Early on, we are treated to that familiar, slightly proggy, slightly funky sound, but this time we also encounter a woman who enjoys dancing to it in public!  Sarah Flavelle opens a brand new side to the band through her choreography and performance.  Before watching her, we were never so aware of the band’s sense of flow.  When the time signature changes, the scenery does as well, before it snaps back.  The music slows to a stop before entering its final phase.  A megafauna monster (who is also Sarah) appears; the music, the dancer and the landscape have all merged.  Each subsequent stop prefaces a new explosion of energy.  The monster removes her foliage of fur and lies atop it.

On the other end of the spectrum, ASIWYFA can also be slow and sweet, as demonstrated on the three-minute “Any Joy.”  The piece is gentle and soothing, suffused with strings.  After rising to a peak, the track lowers itself gently into the violins.  The other tracks migrate between these poles; even a rocker like “Do M” contains a quiet interlude.  “Gallery of Honor” concludes with a lovely piano segment.  But the centerpiece is the two-part “Mother Belfast,” which begins with a laugh and injects a feeling of warmth.  The band calls the album a tribute to the places they call home: not only Belfast, but Portrush on the North Coast.  Every nuance is a reflection of a memory, an experience or a hope.  The megafauna turns out to be a metaphor for their circles of family and friends.  Eschewing their assertive tendencies, the band turns surprisingly wistful.

Fear not; more bangers are coming!  “Button Days” is a succinct distillation of the bands’s sound, and we wouldn’t be surprised to see it as the next single.  While listening, we’re already trying to copy some of the dance moves we saw in “North Coast Megafauna.”  When dancing, it helps to know the song intimately, as it tumbles through phases more quickly than usual due to its brief length.  There’s even a cowbell!  And closer “Me and Dunbar” may not sound like much when it starts, but a series of shifts and builds leads it to powerful peaks.

Like many records, Megafauna was conceived in lockdown.  Now the band is taking it on the road. Learn the dance, master the moves, and see them at ArcTangent this weekend!  (Richard Allen)