And So I Watch You From Afar: All Hail Bright Futures

Post-rock will eat itself.

You can trust Louder Our experienced team has worked for some of the biggest brands in music. From testing headphones to reviewing albums, our experts aim to create reviews you can trust. Find out more about how we review.

Arguably the liveliest and genuinely envelope‐pushing cream of the current post, post‐rock crop, Belfast’s ASIWYFA are so far ahead of the competition they’ve lapped half of them and are virtually biting their arses.

Operating in hitherto uncharted territories, where twitchy pitch‐shifted guitar melodies manage to evoke the indie‐schmindie schmaltz of Two Door Cinema Club, the bombast of Muse and township lilt of Bhundu Boys – often in the same song – this is all underscored by a knowing metal aggression, dropping huge, detuned riffs like electronic sub‐bass bombs.

Repetitive chants and moments of unfettered melodic joy further bolster or confuse the situation, depending on your mindset: it’s pretty weird out here. And like the thought of any future, somewhat unsettling.

Tim Batcup

Tim Batcup is a writer for Classic Rock magazine and Prog magazine. He's also the owner of Cover To Cover, Swansea's only independent bookshop, and a director of Storyopolis, a free children’s literacy project based at the Volcano Theatre, Swansea. He likes music, books and Crass.