A Burial At Sea

Meet the angular shoegaze duo flying the flag for beautiful and chaotic Irish music

I get asked by people what we sound like, and I just say ‘‘it’s weird, man’” laughs Dara Tohill, one half of Irish duo A Burial At Sea. His assessment isn’t inaccurate, they //are // weird, but amid restless time signature shifts and densely layered chaos is beauty in abundance.

Tohill met Patrick Blaney whilst studying at the Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts and were classmates with fellow proggers Exploring Birdsong. A mutual love for fellow Irishmen And So I Watch You From Afar quickly sparked a friendship, but it wasn’t just their music they loved.

“They work hard,” Blaney underlines. “They’ve played stadiums, which is unheard of for a DIY math rock band. That’s inspiring.”

Consequently, a tireless work ethic has accented their career so far. Despite a raft of line-up changes over the years, they’ve built a reputable discography. Their 2018 EP earned them a deal with Pelagic Records, with a self-titled album coming two years later. Since then they’ve toured with their progenitive role models, as well as The Ocean and This Will Destroy You. Now they’re back with a sophomore LP, //Close To Home//. Their first release as a duo, it refocused their creative process.

“We’re not 21 year old students who can jam all day anymore,” Blaney asserts. “This album was me and Dara sitting behind a laptop, which seems the most efficient way. It came together very naturally over about 14 sessions. It felt like we were writing tunes rather than trying to make tunes out of jams.

“Subconsciously,” Blaney continues, “because a lot of the album came from ideas we wrote when we were still living at home with our parents, Irish culture and nature gave us something to direct the focus of the songwriting. I think the nature back home is why Ireland punches above its weight creatively. //tor head// is named after a spot near where I live where two tidal currents meet. It’s crazy but it’s also beautiful, and I think that represented the song and the band nicely. ”

Swirling within their shimmery post-rock textures and pointed math rock riffs is the band’s unique use of brass instrumentation. What started as a whim is now a core part of their sound. Just don’t call it their USP.

“We don’t want to be a brass band,” says Tohill. “We just want to be a band that has brass in it.”

“I love our first album,” Blaney returns, “but we maybe overused the brass because we were finding our feet. Now we’re using it as a compositional and emotional tool that can drive the song.”

With their first Asian tour fast approaching – something Tohill calls “surreal” – and their laptop already littered with fresh demos, the band is set for a fruitful 2024.

“The timing of the album has come perfectly after what was our biggest year as a band last year,” says Blaney. “We’ve done so much and had so many opportunities in such a short space of time; it’s mad.” 

PROG FILE

LINE-UP: Patrick Blaney (guitar, piano, drums), Dara Tohill (guitar, synth)

SOUNDS LIKE: The chaos of math rock colliding with the thoughtful ambience of post-rock over wave battered cliffs on the Irish coastline

CURRENT RELEASE: //Close to Home// is out now via Pelagic Records.

WEBSITE: https://aburialatsea.bandcamp.com

— Phil Weller