And So I Watch You From Afar / Gangs

And So I Watch You From Afar
Gangs
(Richter Collective)
* * * * *

ASIWYFA are a loud rock band above all else. It's one of their trademarks: mention their name and people will raise a panicked eyebrow. "Jesus! They're that... loud band, aren't they?" They are - and they wear it as a badge of pride.

However, loud is not all they are. Being instrumentalists, they tend to go off on instrumentals too: if you come across a mellow part, you can be pretty damn sure it'll suddenly contract and whip you around the ear like a bitch. One minute you get a hailstorm of artrock riffs zipping across the stereo width, the next things have split, divided and morphed into beautifully pretty patterns.

And if this sounds ambitious, that's because it is: 'Seven Billion People All Alive At Once' illustrates the enormity of its title pretty well, holding its breath throughout a euphoric kind of build up, then riffing away to the sound of lots of people chanting "Ba Baa! Ba Baa!" (Rumours that this implies the seven billion people on Earth are all sheep cannot be verified at this time.)

They burn through ideas like maniacs, but precisely controlled maniacs - and the fact that it's exhilarating mind food as opposed to a goddamn mess is down to one simple fact: these Belfast boys have IT!