Returned To The Earth are a band who hail from Nuneaton, a town deep in the bowels of the West Midlands in the UK. They consist of brothers Robin (vocals & guitars) and Steve (keyboards) Peachey, alongside drummer Paul Johnston, who is also a producer & engineer. I heard about the release of Fall of the Watcher, their fourth album, from my very good friend, Thomas Szirmay – basically, when Thomas makes a recommendation, Lazland falls into close order and gets himself a copy.

On their website, the band describe themselves as “Alternative, Atmospheric, Art Rock, Post Rock band”, which I think is some form of code for eclectic. The album has been generating a bit of favourable noise, and, indeed, when I first heard it last week, it struck me as precisely the kind of music which always hits the right buttons for me. It is mastered by Steve Kitch, he of Pineapple Thief fame, and is another release which tells of the personal experiences of the artists over the two-year lurgy period. Now, given that we have had in recent months several very good albums detailing just this, I think that such albums do need to stand above the crowd in order to draw attention, given the ubiquity of the subject matter. I am glad to report that this does, in spades.

There are six pieces of music on the album, which has a running time of 46 minutes. The title track opens proceedings for us and opens in a gentle fashion with distorted guitar and effects before a lovely keyboard sequence is accompanied by the rhythm section. When Robin’s voice is introduced, it is a mighty fine one. In fact, one of the overwhelming things about this album is just how good the playing, singing, and production is. The track itself talks about time moving away from you, pulling walls to dust, making you strong, but stealing your trust – therefore, we get the contradictions of that extremely strange period. Four and a half minutes in, there is a beautifully mournful guitar solo, and I do like the dramatic tempo change some six minutes in which features some very good drum patterns leading the complex riffs around it. This is a very good track which has two very contrasting moods to it, beginning with a melodic core before morphing into an extended post rock instrumental, thus fully vindicating the website descriptor I pointed out above.

White Room follows this. The bass lead is noticeable on this, alongside a simple piano chord before a nice percussion and drum loop accompanying the lead voice, which is noticeably fragile. As the track progresses, we get some very interesting drum effects added into the mix. The “breath” segment which follows is a delicate piece of beauty with some fine and lush keyboards backing the voice with a starkly haunting guitar. This is quite lovely, and this is accentuated by the stunning guitar work five minutes in which leads over more of these interesting effects.

Drowning talks about darkness coming, and then fading, with drowning thoughts beneath the waves. The drums and percussion are again right to the fore of the mix with more interesting electronica behind it and haunting guitars once more entering the mix. With lyrics talking of the feeling that life’s begun and then ends, and your voice starting and your choice about never getting old, this strikes me as typifying the thoughts of fear and mortality we had during the pandemic, before the reassertion of our strength as a species. The keyboard solo which expands the track after this segment is fine, and the band then move into the final minute as an expansive collective.

Sacrificed in Vain is the sole 10+ minute “epic” on the album. The orchestral effects which open are poignant backing the vocals. The track develops very nicely with some wonderful open guitar chords and lyrically this strikes me as being a love song. Three and a half minutes in, we get another complete change of mood and tempo as some crushing guitar riffs and thundering rhythm section take precedence, a complete contrast to what came before and we are then treated to another fine lead guitar burst which is almost anthemic. The mid-point of the track slows proceedings down again with some melodic key chords and drum loop backing the vocals which talk about “changing it all with an unstoppable force” and the “clouds hanging over us” leading to a rather thoughtful passage which talks to me of reconciliation and life-changing thoughts/actions. The blues-infused guitar burst eight minutes in is a joy to listen to, especially when they again expand this out in a rush of noise. This is a fine piece of music and my personal favourite. It has it all – melody, fragility, musical interest, all held together by an expansive mix. The video for this is embedded below – lie back, close your eyes, and let a wonderful piece of music wash all over you.

How do you follow this? Well, with Lack of Information, a good melodic rock track. There are some nice orchestral string effects alongside the piano which perfectly back the lyrics talking about losing yourself before we have the lead guitar reasserting itself. The vocals have a particularly melancholic feel, and the song itself talks to me of a period in which we really were not altogether sure what on earth was really happening, with a sense that we were not being told the whole picture, but that is my interpretation. What I do know is that the guitar solo which leads us to the final half minute of delicate piano chords is a fine way to lose oneself.

The album closes with April Sky. The opening sequence is atmospheric with a ghostly guitar accompanying some exquisite synths. The lyrics are quite lovely, talking about standing under an April sky, with a loved one, but not in the flesh, rather in the mind, so this talks to us wonderfully of the separation we all experienced. Again, there are some lovely string orchestrations rising above the gentle piano alongside more sampled drumbeats which sound wholly appropriate to the mood as opposed to industrial in the hands of a lesser band. The guitars on this are at once fragile, and then, upon expansion again five minutes in, the track comes out of its ambient reverie and moves us into a modern rock piece where the group take us with them “falling” and the denouement transports us back to the start in what is a deeply satisfying song.

Fall of the Watcher is a highly impressive album. You can listen to this album on Bandcamp at https://returnedtotheearth.bandcamp.com/ . I took advantage of the offer to buy their digital discography for 25% off, and I get the feeling that more than a few of you will do so after listening to this deeply impressive album.