GOD IS AN ASTRONAUT

Ghost Tapes #10 NAPALM RECORDS

IT HAS DEPTH, VIRTUOSITY AND GENUINE CHARACTER.

Irish instrumental crew still opening horizons.

Sometimes it’s easy to forget just how long any band have been releasing music. God Is An Astronaut are a case in point. Incredibly, this is their 10th album in a career that now spans nearly two decades. The post-rockers have always sounded fresh by keeping on their toes. Because, while their style has consistently been permeated with a trademark density, it has never followed complacent paths. The same is obvious here. Ghost Tapes #10 offers some familiar guidelines, such as the way Torsten Kinsella and Jamie Dean’s intense guitar soundscapes intermingle and fuse, on top of which the pair layer intricate piano motifs, designed to complement this raw fluency. But the band also develop these patterns in excitingly bold directions.

Each of the seven tracks here is full of bright individuality, indicating four musicians who revel in expressing freedom of purpose. This much is clear in the delicate allure of

Adrift and Burial. The musical notations glide with an almost peaceful poise, but just beneath the surface lurks a primitive tension brought to fruition by Lloyd Hanney’s deliberately jarring drum patterns, ensuring an unease that suits the atmosphere.

Spectres is even more spartan, as the instrumental sounds clash disturbingly, yet at the same time have an elegance bringing to mind the early-60s work of Joe Meek. This innovative producer is more obviously channelled on Fade.

It has the authentic feel of that bygone era, reminiscent of Meek’s work with such significant genre pioneers as Sounds Incorporated. But even here, God Is An Astronaut strike their own chord, and aren’t content merely to copy what’s been done before. They build on the style first hewn by Meek and his roster of artists, thereby ensuring its relevance to 2021.

There are two significant guest appearances on the album. Jimmy Scanlan provides additional guitar sharpness to

Barren Trees, thereby adding welcome folk-imbued whimsy, and Jo Quail plays the cello to enormous effect on closing composition Luminous Waves, an inspirational way to finish the album.

The band never get carried away, though. None of the tracks are allowed to become overblown; everything is kept tight and disciplined. Such has always been the case with this band. They have never been self indulgent, but steered their creativity on a strictly rationed pathway. This firmly avoids the trap of becoming a bore.

Ghost Tapes #10 is perhaps the band’s most accomplished album to date. It has emotional depth, accessible virtuosity and genuine character. A confident, quality statement.