Outside of Tracer AMC, Northern Ireland is not known for its massive array of post-rock talent, but who gives a shit? And So I Watch You From Afar has come hurtling into the spotlight with its astounding EP, This is Our Machine and Nothing Can Stop It. This band is being lavished with praise by the Irish and British press, and this exposure is well justified; upon listening to this debut release, the listener almost gets the feeling that the band knew they would be successful.

The 5 track EP begins with "Holylands 4am," a short track that is full of energy. "Holyland" propels the listener along a hectic journey with as much substance as most other bands’ ten minute "epics" achieve. This is quite an accomplishment, as the two minute introduction swiftly knocks us on our feet and we wildly anticipate what is to follow. While bands often place the most explosive track at the beginning of the release and then fade away in intensity from there, this is not the case with This is Our Machine...And So I Watch You From Afar continually raises the bar from track to track, and just when you think the peak has been reached, another uphill climb is tackled.

The band’s longer tracks are not simply a stretched version of the shorter  first track, but rather allow the band to show off intricate song-writing and show a much more evolved band in the larger space. These typically mark truly progressive tracks, while still using the tried-and-true post-rock crescendo formula perfectly. What bring these up that extra tier though, is the fact that the band does not rest on one idea and repeat it ad nauseam into a long song; And So I Watch You From Afar continues to progress, adding guitars, changing rhythms, building on riffs, and making sure that the listener is always mesmerized in their dynamic sound. The best example of this is "The Voiceless," a sweeping, spellbinding 7 minute epic that begins with beautiful, delicate guitars and ends with a soaring evocative crescendo.

One thing that should be mentioned, as it is quite obvious, is that the band takes a strong influence from the Explosions In The Sky post-rock sound. For some, this will count against the band, but also noting that over the length of the 26 minute EP the band is also reminiscent of Caspian and If These Trees Could Talk, I do believe many will learn to embrace this rising star. Countless new acts try to get a great sound by taking influences from some the most successful bands in the genre and generally fail miserably. And So I Watch You From Afar have nailed it, it's as simple as that.

- Idris Hussain