Inimitable post rock outsiders A Burial At Sea have released ‘Tor Head’, the second single from their forthcoming sophomore album, ‘Close To Home’, set for release on the 23rd of February, 2024 via Berlin’s Pelagic Records.
A pounding paean to the rugged Northern Irish coastline, ‘Tor Head’ opens on a hailstorm of palm-muted guitars and fizzing polyrhythmic percussion that channels the restless energy of A Burial At Sea’s math-rock roots. Buoyed by triumphant brass motifs and a fleeting, dynamic respite from the chaos, the track echoes the trials and tribulations of the intervening years that have taught them how to weather the storm.
Irish-born but now Liverpool-based, A Burial At Sea 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 incendiary craft and gaining a loyal fan base across Europe in the process.
Somewhat conversely, sophomore album ‘Close To Home’ represents A Burial At Sea exploring the influence of their Gaelic roots. Written quickly over lockdown in an intense period of introspection, the record comprises years of creative ideas brought to life in the here and now. Haunting, bittersweet melodies plucked from childhood folksongs 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, brass-led sound; the confidence, experience and sheer musical assuredness behind these compositions renders any generic labels immediately obsolete. The tempestuous adrenaline rush of ‘Tor Head’ proves without a doubt that A Burial At Sea are so much greater than the sum of their parts; positioning the band on the crest of a truly progressive wave of uplifting, anthemic post-rock.
A Burial At Sea’s Patrick Blaney on ‘Tor Head’:
“Tor Head is a barren stretch of Northern Irish coastline adorned with daunting cliffs, panoramic ocean views and the remains of Altagore Cashel, an ancient Ring-Fort. By far the heaviest and most chaotic track on this album, we wanted ‘Tor Head’ to reflect the timeless wilderness and defiant resilience of the landscape that shaped us”
