All Hail Bright Futures Reviews Compendium

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The future seemed uncertain for ASIWYFA after the departure of founding member Tony Wright in 2011, but there's no denying the optimism on display here: this is one of the most joyous, frantic and downright danceable instrumental guitar albums of the year. Axe wizard Rory Friers' spasmodic pitch-shift freak-out riffs return, and here they flit around a more varied instrumental and rhythmic backdrop. But most importantly, the band's sense of melody, interplay and insatiable energy still rips a hole in your speakers. - Total Guitar [print]

 

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This Weeks Best Albums - Week of March 19th, 2013
"Glistening guitar textures and extra-thick bass licks again lead the way, but there are more than a few simple and harmonized vocal refrains to go with intermittent usage of voice as texture. And with sonic switcheroos in the form of trumpet, flute, and synthesizers, the latest from ASIWYFA announces the band’s own bright future." - Alarm


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"The sun is shining, the party’s started. ASIWYFA sound like they’re having fun shaping and performing this music, and you’ll want to be part of it. " - BBC Music

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"their new album is definitely their best yet." - The 405

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"If All Hail Bright Futures is anything, it’s definitely not more of the same. It is daring, adventurous, breathtaking and – above all else – bloody brilliant." - State.IE


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" I love the state of duality the newest album of theirs holds, riding a fine line between anthemic high energy rock and colorfully enriched deviations into experimental forms. All Hail Bright Futures is a phenomenal piece of modern art." - Sound Colour Vibration

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"Everything about And So I Watch You From Afar’s third record is staggeringly delightful. From beginning to end it is a wonderful medley full of bombast and cheer" - The Line of Best Fit 

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"ASIWYFA reveal that beneath the sixteenth notes and rapid drum fills there is a beating, vivacious heart. All Hail Bright Futures indeed."
- Pop Matters

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"It’s hard for some instrumental acts to keep their sound fresh, but ASIWYFA have exploded out in every direction and pulled together an album that is totally new, but cogent, and yet familiar and true to their sound and sensibilities—some might say ‘fresh to death.’" - Decoy

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" Initially it took me off-guard, but even Gangs took me a while to fully wrap my head around at first. Some may wonder why they've tweaked the formula. For me I think it’s a refusal to play it "safe" or stand still for too long. I'm all for evolution, especially when it sounds so damn good."- Echoes and Dust

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"The best way to describe And So I Watch You From Afar’s latest full length album All Hail Bright Futures is as 12 tracks of 100% pure positivity. This album just exudes good vibes, which is a change in the band’s sound. Where ASIWYFA’s previous album Gangs seemed like a battle cry on the way into some epic and gory battle, All Hail Bright Futures is the celebration after a long hard-fought victory. " - Bearded Gentlemen Music

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"Different as it may be, ‘All Hail Bright Futures’ shouldn’t be condemned to endless comparisons to older material. Not only a great album in itself, it paints a picture of a band unrestrained by expectations and boldly rocketing forward." AU Magazine

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"The album showcases a plethora of influences, styles, and vibrancy that illustrates how the band is still going strong following the departure of Tony Wright. "- Noisography

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"All Hail Bright Futures is nothing short of a good time. Check it out." - American Aftermath

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"In comparison to their previous two releases, ‘All Hail Bright Futures’ is a much more solid album from  front to back." - Post-Rockstar

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"They’re back everyone, and they’re back in a big way. All Hail Bright Futures is a ludicrously upbeat take on the signature And So I Watch You From Afar sound.- 10/10 " - Eagle Eye Vista

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"Third time lucky with the Choice Music Prize? You shouldn't need luck with something as good as this. " - RTE

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" It’s a gloriously uplifting record full of all sorts of flourishes like horns and strings alongside the standard post-rock instrumentation and, yes, before you get too worried, there are sections where the band get a little heavy and bring to mind some of the less subtle moments of bands like Red Sparowes or If These Trees Could Talk. So if you’re looking for something a little different, look no further." - Heavy Blog is Heavy

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"much like every ASIWYFA album so far, ‘All Hail Bright Futures’ is full of life." - Golden Plec

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"exploding into Big Thinks Do Remarkable (below) a track that sounds like Slayer-playing-the-sounds-of-Soweto or Bathory-meets-the-Bhundu-Boys. Jubilant, heavy and as infectious as the handles on a primary school toilet door, it’s a perfect one-two punch that has put this Northern Ireland band on our radar as our favourite post-post rock band of the moment." - Classic Rock

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"They’ve shaken things up beautifully to avoid stagnating and stalling, and All Hail Bright Futures is the band at their most bright, positive and progressive." - Musical Mathematics

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"All Hail Bright Futures, makes no apologies: Within 43 minutes you’ll hear dubstep dropouts, lo-fi flute solos, joyful indie-rock chanting, marimba breaks and ear-splitting surf lines. Oftentimes in the same song." - Mxdwn

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Equal parts art piece and straight-up rock album, All Hail Bright Futures pushes the proverbial envelope. While starting muted with "Eunoia" and "Big Thinks Do Remarkable," the album quickly blooms into a raucous affair with the stellar tracks, "Like a Mouse" and "Mend and Make Safe," providing a sonic thrash that never loses composure and somehow stays entertaining. - Verbicide Magazine

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All Hail Bright Futures ultimately emerges as an album of extraordinary heart. - Rock Sound Magazine [print]

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Just hearing the high voltage riffs of 'Big Thinks Do Remarkable' kick in is enough to make you want to windmill around your bedroom like the guitar hero of your teenage dreams. - The Fly [print]

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