And So I Watch You From Afar – ‘Heirs’ [Review]
Opening with the joyous, shred-heavy post-rock heaviness of Run Home, Heirs manages to be uplifting, intellectual, and addictive all at once. Cheeky second tune These Secret Kings I Know feels playful and summery despite raw and edgy guitar tones and far-from-polished production – a real achievement – and from that point, I was just straight up fucking hooked.
It’s no challenge to imagine fields full of festivalgoers bouncing with abandon to this album’s full running time, punctuating wild screams and cheers with singalong moments. Wasps‘ gang vocals were made to be shared in open air, under either sun or stars; Redesigned A Million Times is catchy in a Biffy-Clyro-when-they’re-good way; and many a moment is guaranteed to provoke I-couldn’t-give-a-fuck air guitaring no matter where you happen to be. This is not an album you should listen to while queuing for a job interview.
The greatness continues with People Not Sleeping (which evokes A Crow Left Of The Murder-era Incubus); Fucking Liar‘s incensed and frequently fragmented stomp; the metallic strumming, pounding pulse, and glorious leads of A Beacon, A Compass, An Anchor; Animal Ghosts (where frenzied Whammy pedal work achieves epicness levels equal to *shels at their best); the Frank-Zappa-goes-post-rock vibe of title track Heirs; and the cutsey, thoughtful, peaceful, and finally hectically intense closer Tryer, You.
Phew.
Looking back at all that, respect is due for the fact that ASIWYFA don’t even put a note wrong on Heirs. A genuine triumph.
TMMP RATING: 93%
Links / Listen
And So I Watch You From Afar official website.
Follow TMMP on Twitter for more from the world of world-class music! If you’re a regular reader, thanks for the support! Don’t stop, and keep going!