Reigns ‘The House On The Causeway’.

Famous playwright and world-renowned brainbox George Bernard Shaw once wrote: “If you can’t get rid of the skeletons in your closet, you’d better teach them how to dance” – Reigns were clearly paying attention. Like Mogwai having a nervous breakdown in a haunted house, Wessex-based brothers Tim and Roo Farthing craft surreal and epic soundscapes that revel in the curio of their coastal eccentricity. From the epic melancholia of ‘Bad Slate’ to the spooky brilliance of ’Mirrors At Night’ and ’Vaulted’, Reigns are befuddling brilliant; the only real criticism with ‘The House On The Causeway’ is that it arrived too late for Halloween.

Singing like they have collectively trapped their balls in a car door, these brothers Grimm fashion a compellingly aeriform racket that is far more heartfelt and considered than the majority of today’s numbing indie flotsam. Ghostly ambience, distorted vocals and eerie electronics segue beautifully into instrumental breaks of folky melodica and chilling stabs of piano, the whole package unfurling with an ethereal grandeur that charms and unsettles in equal measure. Indeed, Reigns’ pastoral prog is more than a little creepy, most of it sounding like it was tailormade to soundtrack Fred West’s inner monologue during his quieter moments of introspection, although repeat listens reveal that it is well worth more than a perfunctory glance. Just remember to check the wardrobe for monsters before you push ‘Play’.