God is an Astronaut - Ghost Tapes #10 (Album Review) Wednesday, 17 February 2021
Photo: Brian Meade
Since their 2005 breakthrough, ‘All Is Violent, All Is Bright’, God is an Astronaut have been ambassadors for the immense possibilities of instrumental songwriting, imbuing their sound with prog, metal, krautrock, and elements cribbed from symphonic and choral music.
In 2018, the County Wicklow band continued their spotless legacy with ninth album ‘Epitaph’, arguably their most heart-wrenching outing to date. It was inspired in large part by brothers Torsten and Niels Kinsella (guitars and bass respectively) enduring the death of their seven-year-old cousin.
As a result, it was a mellow journey full of lush keyboard passages and droning ambient segues. The band had rarely sounded more pensive than on closing songs Komorebi, Medea and Oisín, which largely negated percussion in favour of forlorn serenity.