READ BETWEEN THE LINES AT ALL TIMES

Hey you! Yes! You! Do you like post-rock but you're sick of waiting for climaxes? Do you feel like the crescendos of your favorite bands are too long and they never seem to end? Sick of 20 minutes songs with only 2 minutes worth of good music? Do you?! Then step right up because I have a surprise for you. It's called Scraps Of Tape and these guys are tired of it too. (Hey! that rhymed)

A very interesting and fun band this is. Scraps Of Tape, while still being a post-rock band with a certain Mogwai, Explosions In The Sky influences (in other words: "guitar oriented post-rock") they certainly don't follow their modus operandi (soft / crescendo / climax, rinse and repeat). These guys are like a bomb without a timer, a jack-in-a-box without the music, a truly passive / aggressive personality. Scraps Of Tape isn't a fan of crescendos, but they sure are a fan of climaxes and they try to crank up the volume up to 12 when they do, but when do they do it? Well, that's the interesting part of this band, you'll never know when the climaxes will happen and they don't keep you waiting for long either. They manage to go from melodically soft and humble to hell unleashing fury from one second to another (while still maintaining a great sense of melody) and it will definitely take you by surprise the first, second and third time you listen to them. In the middle of all of these frantic songs there are acoustic untitled songs that act as breathers along with "Black Scare Tactics" which follows the same acoustic mood and is the only song with vocals to keep you calm for a few minutes before the madness begins yet again.

Scraps Of Tape made a great debut album that left many people talking about them in 2004. If you're getting tired of longs songs and even longer crescendos then Scraps Of Tape's Read Between The Lines At All Times is the cure. While the album looses some steam by the end with too many acoustic songs (they could've spread them more around the album or take some off) this is still a great album that packs alot of punch and melodies that will stay in your head for quite some time.

My rating? around 3.8 and 4, but I'm feeling generous today so 4 stars it is.