In 2025 And So I Watch You from Afar will have been making noise together for 20 years. Megafauna, the Northern Irish noiseniks’ seventh studio album, sees them create a dreamy, raucous and delightfully nuanced record inspired by the places they call home: the seaside town of Portrush, Co Antrim, and the city of Belfast, with its vibrant music scene, where And So I Watch You from Afar cut their teeth and first set their guitars to stun.

The centrepiece of Megafauna is a two-part tribute to their native city: Mother Belfast, Pt 1 and Mother Belfast, Pt 2. Both feature all of this crack squad’s hallmarks, dramatically and unpredictably shifting gears and tempos and keeping listeners on their toes on a highly compelling journey in sound in the process. Years Ago gorgeously showcases the intricate maturity and soul of the band, shorn of some of their more abrasive metal and postrock edges and embracing a more expansive sound entirely of their own beautiful creation.

Darran Anderson, the Derry author of the groundbreaking book Imaginary Cities: A Tour of Dream Cities Nightmare Cities and Everywhere in Between, as well as a marvellous memoir, Inventory: A River, a City, a Family, believes “there is no shortage of storytellers in Northern Ireland, but how and why we tell stories is often overlooked”. And So I Watch You from Afar proudly tell their own story musically, without words. They continue to be one of this island’s finest bands, sonic sorcerers and storytellers.