THE EARTH IS NOT A COLD DEAD PLACE

One of the things that strikes most when you spin EITS's third album is the general ambiance is sticking a bit too closely to Constellation label's better known groups such as DMST and GYBE! This is not to say that the album is un-enjoyable but it does ruin a bit the feeling of an otherwise excellent album. One of the few things this album has got going for itself is that it sticks more to the music, and does wander in rather strange and out-of-place dialogues, which can become irksome after repeated listenings, which GYBE! has gotten us so used to.

So other than that, the music is really reminiscent of the afore-mentioned Canadian bands but also close to San Fran based Tarentel. This means that guitars are the dominant instruments and that they are at the service of the music instead or rising to prominence and overshadowing the rest of the instruments. The music also lacks the depth or the dynamics of GYBE!'s but then again the Montrealers are nine and these guys are four.

Quite a pleasant album but hardly anything groundbreaking or even innovative - this album comes almost a decade after the first Post Rock masterpieces appeared (Tortoise's debut in 94 and GYBE!'s debut in 96); If you are a newcomer to post rock, this could make an excellent introduction since there are no flaws and the album stays concise enough to avoid lengths. Not wanting to dampen the great reviews elsewhere on this page, if you have been a follower of post rock from the start (Tortoise's debut) - I joined in 98 after GYBE!'s second release - you shall not be so optimistic and enthusiastic about this group who is simply just following the trend without bringing anything new. Just jumping on the bandwagon.

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