I've noticed something about post-rock bands, either they have fantastically overblown band names, or very simple, non-descript, one-word band names. Compare Godspeed You Black Emperor!, to say, Mogwai. There seems to be very little in the middle, if you're a post-rock band, you're either horribly pretentious, or terribly unassuming.

Tape belong to the 'unassuming' post-rock tradition, and their closest cousins in said tradition are undoubtedly bands along the lines of Tortoise. They mix acoustic instruments with some heavily electronic processing, which produces an interesting organic/artificial dynamic to their music that sets them apart from the crowd, and actually makes them worth listening to.

Sunrefain, the first track on this album, shows how versatile the band can get, using a mixture of organs, guitar, and a repeating bass riff to set the song up for the inevitable crescendo, which comes in the form of an explosion of brass instruments. Light sheets of static are laid across all of this, and the occasional minor crescendos (such as the one at about 3:45) manage to sound surprising, without being jarring. The lack of any drums or percussion means that the song floats along its eleven-minute length, rather than being driven there.

Later tracks follow much the same pattern, but without quite as much style and grace. A Spire sounds much like its namesake, like a tower eerie piano and acoustic guitar stretching into a cloudy night sky. Sand Dunes hums and crackles along like a night in the open desert, as the wind picks up and a sandstorm begins to blow in. Album closer Long Lost Engine uses weaves mellotron and simplistic melodies into an unsettling mixture full of bizarre chords and odd time signatures.

"Rideau" doesn't bash you with noise, and it's considerably more restrained and subtle than most similar postrock. Still, this sort of music is not for everybody, and you probably already know if you like this sort of thing. Tape haven't constructed a brilliant album here that will stand as a classic of the genre, but for fans of that genre, this isn't a bad little album.

I've noticed something about post-rock bands, either they have fantastically overblown band names, or very simple, non-descript, one-word band names. Compare Godspeed You Black Emperor!, to say, Mogwai. There seems to be very little in the middle, if you're a post-rock band, you're either horribly pretentious, or terribly unassuming.

Tape belong to the 'unassuming' post-rock tradition, and their closest cousins in said tradition are undoubtedly bands along the lines of Tortoise. They mix acoustic instruments with some heavily electronic processing, which produces an interesting organic/artificial dynamic to their music that sets them apart from the crowd, and actually makes them worth listening to.

Sunrefain, the first track on this album, shows how versatile the band can get, using a mixture of organs, guitar, and a repeating bass riff to set the song up for the inevitable crescendo, which comes in the form of an explosion of brass instruments. Light sheets of static are laid across all of this, and the occasional minor crescendos (such as the one at about 3:45) manage to sound surprising, without being jarring. The lack of any drums or percussion means that the song floats along its eleven-minute length, rather than being driven there.

Later tracks follow much the same pattern, but without quite as much style and grace. A Spire sounds much like its namesake, like a tower eerie piano and acoustic guitar stretching into a cloudy night sky. Sand Dunes hums and crackles along like a night in the open desert, as the wind picks up and a sandstorm begins to blow in. Album closer Long Lost Engine uses weaves mellotron and simplistic melodies into an unsettling mixture full of bizarre chords and odd time signatures.

"Rideau" doesn't bash you with noise, and it's considerably more restrained and subtle than most similar postrock. Still, this sort of music is not for everybody, and you probably already know if you like this sort of thing. Tape haven't constructed a brilliant album here that will stand as a classic of the genre, but for fans of that genre, this isn't a bad little album.