ALBUM REVIEW: Close To Home – A Burial At Sea
Post-rock is in rude health and A BURIAL AT SEA have been one of its brightest new sparks since the release of their self-titled debut in 2020. Taking cues from the likes of AND SO I WATCH YOU FROM AFAR and CASPIAN, the Irish ensemble blend blissful, emotive horn sections with the more typical guitar, drawing on elements as far away from post-rock as afro jazz. It’s hypnotic, and by filtering their inspirations through an instrumental landscape, second album Close To Home offers a stunningly-wrought, emotional ode to their home, looking back as much as it does to what the future holds.
Opener Páirc Béal Uisce builds slowly, layers of shimmering guitar adding on top of each other along with horns. Its patient, meditative pacing is built with washes of cymbal and looping melodies, before Tor Head offers a driving, staccato rhythm in an ode to the Irish coastlines. The open chords it crescendos to offer glimpses of rushing water, high cliffs and gorgeous landscapes; the pairing of far more math rock-indebted passages to more typical post-rock is something the band repeat in various forms throughout Close To Home, folding the various strands of influence together to weave their tapestry of sound.
There’s moments where they do fly a bit too close to their influences; Hy-Brasil could almost be an AND SO I WATCH YOU FROM AFAR offcut, as its guitar melody echoes Straight Through The Sun. Here in particular it’s a little jarring and breaks the sonic spell they’ve woven. Masterfred is a notable highlight; named after founding member Dara Tohill’s dad, it shows the band are able to turn down the volume knob when they need to. It’s a richly detailed, organic piece that ebbs and flows gracefully.
While they do utilise horns, A BURIAL AT SEA know not to overuse them; Tor Head and Down To The Floor are almost entirely guitar-driven, any horns kept very much in the background or reserve. It means when they are reintroduced, it’s that much more impactful. The space created across both those and the more typical post rock crescendos gives Close To Home an expansive, comforting feel. The band also dabble in moments of math rock and post-hardcore flourishes to help their instrumental soundscapes blossom, like on the driving Tor Head. In contrast, closer DALL is all syncopated groove and anthemic leads as it pays homage to their hometown.
Close To Home is a stunningly wrought evolution of A BURIAL AT SEA’s sonic world, taking their debut’s promise and elevating it to gorgeous heights. Brass sections entwine with blissful post-rock, math rock flourishes accentuate an undercurrent of post-hardcore; it all points squarely at a band whose forced time away during the last few years has given them an even greater command of dynamics, songcraft and allowing emotion to shine through. Their name might refer to plumbing the depths of the ocean, but A BURIAL AT SEA make truly stratospheric music, setting themselves apart from a crowded field with ease.
Rating: 8/10
Close To Home is set for release on February 23rd via Pelagic Records.
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