Album Review: And So I Watch You From Afar, The Endless Shimmering

It's fair to say that Heirs, released in 2015 by riff-mongers And So I Watch You From Afar, was a divisive beast. Though there were flashes of magic, they were all too fleeting, making for an uneven listen that alienated some of their followers. Now, The Endless Shimmering sees the Northerners go back, in some respects, to their roots. Sounding heavier and more frenzied than in recent memory (perhaps thanks to two members' exploits in ferocious side project 7.5 Tonnes Of Beard), this record - their fifth - blends the bullish elements of their first two albums with the giddy, genre-bucking aspects of the second two.

On opener 'Three Triangles', a forceful drum beat drives the band through a complex five minutes, which boasts some shredding Marty Friedman would be proud of. 'Terrors Of Pleasure' keeps things metallic and adopts some guitar sounds that call to mind Tom Morello, while the almost funky (in a fucked up kind of way) title track serves as a reminder that ASIWYFA have tricks aplenty left up their sleeves.

Over the course of nine tracks, they do stumble over some familiar math-rock hurdles. 'Dying Giants' feels self-indulgent to me, while 'I'll Share A Life' is as unremarkable as it is impenetrable. Its wobbles notwithstanding, however, The Endless Shimmering will steady the good ship ASIWYFA and should satisfy most - if not all - of their ravenous fanbase.

7/10
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