The Night Watch - An Embarrassment Of Riches

Now this is a stunner. It's been three years since the last The Night Watch full length and it's hard not to be excited about what the band bring to the table. their brand of (mostly) instrumental progressive rock with gorgeous production and intricate song structures is mesmerizing. The band master  variety of sonic colors and An Embarrassment Of Riches is so replete with sparkling musical ideas that it is essentially... an embarrassment of riches. The Night Watch fascinate here and every track feels like a powerful exploration of the soul.

I think where The Night Watch really shine on this record is their unique ability to blend ideas and sonic concepts into powerful overarching tone poems. There is a clear overall sense of 'vibe' that defines what The Night Watch is about. An Embarrassment Of Riches only builds on that. The prog leaning moments are tempered with lush instrumentation. One special highlight is the track Telling Brow And Tongue Root which takes brilliant violin work and contrasts it with a borderline math-y guitar part. These unexpected ties and unique explorations are what makes this album so compelling in the first place.

In some ways The Night Watch are like an instrumental Agalloch, but they do a hell of a lot more than just ape the Cascadian masters, especially on this album. As is, An Embarrassment Of Riches eagerly darts between musical concepts to create something poetic. It's easy to get lost, and when that initial cry of 'Land Ho!' rings out in the opening track you realize that you have been swept away to a mystical land. There is a lot to sink your teeth into with The Night Watch and the more time you spend the more you will fall in love.

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