Post rock collective A Burial At Sea release soaring new album, 'Close To Home

Inimitable post rock outsiders A Burial At Sea have released their second full-length album, ‘Close To Home’ via Berlin’s Pelagic Records.

Testament to how far the band have evolved their signature brass-led blend of shoegaze, math-metal and afro-jazz since 2020’s self-titled debut, ‘Close To Home’ is a meditative, slow-burn tidal wave of post-rock inspired patience, perfectly embodied by album track ‘NEW old’. Melancholic guitar melodies resound within the space left by soft, shuffling drums and a lilting brass refrain before the whole band crashes into the enthralling, wall-of-sound euphoria on which A Burial At Sea built their reputation.

Irish-born but now Liverpool-based, the band made waves in 2018 when, bursting with bombastic creativity, the ‘...And The Sum Of Its Parts’ EP turned the traditionally austere post-rock frown upside down. Quickly catching the attention of like-minded, international genre-benders And So I Watch You From Afar (ASIWYFA), This Will Destroy You, Caspian and Some Become Hollow Tubes (Godspeed You! Black Emperor), A Burial At Sea subsequently spent months on tour in support, honing their craft and gaining a loyal following across Europe in the process.

Somewhat conversely, sophomore album ‘Close To Home’ represents A Burial At Sea exploring the influence of their Irish roots. Written quickly over lockdown in an intense period of introspection when home felt so close but so far away, the record comprises years of creative ideas brought to life in the here and now. Haunting, bittersweet melodies plucked from childhood memories ebb and flow like a stream of consciousness as the eclectic collective dial down the overdrive and let the ephemeral, breathless spaces where distortion meets horn section sing out the loudest.

A staggering refinement of the band’s truly unique instrumental sound; the confidence, experience and sheer musical assuredness behind these compositions renders any generic labels of post-rock obsolete. ‘Close To Home’ proves without a doubt that A Burial At Sea are indeed more than the sum of their parts; positioning the band on the crest of a truly progressive, anthemic and uplifting wave.