Autumn Owls:Between Buildings, Towards The Sea

Recorded earlier this year in Chicago with Brian Deck at the console (Iron & Wine, Modest Mouse etc.) this Dublin outfit’s much-anticipated debut showcases their essentially uncompromising approach. No surprise, then, that you won’t find too many conventional song structures or concessions to radio-friendliness here. With not a middle eight or a vocal harmony in sight, the songs are long and drawn out, while the guitar-playing is positively architectural in the way that it has been constructed, layered and topped out.
Opening track ‘Semaphores’ is a stark, doom-laden thing with vocals that sound like they were recorded through a megaphone in an underground tunnel. It recalls the post-punk of Echo & The Bunnymen and Magazine with elements of Television in the mix. The haunting ‘Kiss The Wine’ veers towards Richard Hawley’s more experimental side while the ‘Owls explore interesting sonic territory on the sublimely epic ‘Great Atlantic Drift’. Clocking in just under six minutes, the cinematic ‘All The Lights In New York’ builds over a frantic, funereal beat with twangy guitars and sundry other textures while ‘Borrowed Suit’ is downright eerie.
At times the relentless darkness can be overwhelming and it’s tempting to suggest that a more commercially-minded producer might have edited out some of the more bloody-minded elements here. But they’d be a different band. Compelling and unsettling...