![]() They might take you out of your listening experience the first few times due to how infrequently they appear, but on repeated listens they reinforce the record’s upbeat, hopeful tone.Īll this change could make for a complete revolution of ASIWYFA‘s sound, but the album is unmistakably, bombastically their own. Several spoken word passages, contributed by Clutch‘s Neil Fallon and Emma Ruth Rundle, act as sporadic signposts during the record’s more pensive first half (and – spoilers – very briefly at the end). Two of the tracks are string-focused pieces that bookend the record, but through its run time, the strings are not over-used, as the band drives the action and dominates the mix. ![]() These strings do not simply decorate – much of the time, the strings are the punchline, entering when a passage reaches its summit, such as on “ V Hold”, or bolstering the distorted guitar leads on “ VI Submerge”. In a possibly ostentatious move, the band enlists the Arco String Quartet to add additional texture and momentum throughout the suite. ![]() If the idea of an album being a single 39-minute track gives you pause – firstly, my condolences – and secondly, fret not! Whilst envisaged as a single suite, “ Jettison” is also split into nine accessible chunks that stand well on their own. Their newest release, Jettison, sees the band at their most ambitious. ASIWYFA have practised their much-celebrated formula for over ten years, occasionally experimenting with gang vocals, trumpets, and songs anywhere between one and ten minutes long. Perhaps the band is best understood through their rhythm section: the bass and drums are simply ferocious and playful. The duelling lead guitars could be mistaken for face-melting arena rock, but rather than soloing, they’re mostly in the business of crafting catchy riffs that mosh pits can sing along to (and, in my experience, they do). Effect pedals bring a wealth of texture to their longer numbers, but they do not shoegaze, preferring instead to quickly stomp on a few whacky pedals, sound like Donald Duck in a tumble-dryer for 5 or so seconds, and stomp back. Their riffing is not obtuse enough to be ‘math rock’, and far too much fun to be ‘post rock’. Lassifying the four-piece And So I Watch You From Afar ( ASIWYFA) is difficult as they don’t fit neatly into well-trodden instrumental rock traditions.
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