Albums of the Week: Highlighted Albums of May 2008

Coup de Grace
Coup de Grace
Myspace

Comprised of thirteen tracks and around 70 minutes of music, Coup de Grace represents the epic self-titled debut from this intriguing Utah-based quartet. While the album is centered around standard post-rock structure, often weaving between solemn, downtrodden passages and up-tempo bursts of reverb-laden intensity, Coup de Grace stand out in their execution and knowledge of the genre's subtleties. Crucial to the band's success is the frequent and efficient use of atmospheric guitar lines segueing into energetic layers of tremolo and heavy distortion; all the while a relatively subdued production value adds to the album's collective theme. By no means groundbreaking in composition or experimentation, Coup de Grace nonetheless stands as a particularly enjoyable release stationed within the boundaries of the post-rock genre.


De La Mancha
Atlas
Myspace

On their debut album Atlas, Swedish two-piece De La Mancha achieve a sound diverse in approach and influence while maintaining a cohesive property between tracks. On display within Atlas are portions of heavily distorted guitar as well as moments of stripped-down acoustic work, both of which are positioned amongst manifestations of varying musical influences. In specific, tracks such as "Lotus Seven" and "Superstoned," exhibit De La Mancha's considerable psychedelic-rock component, while other pieces ("Newfoundland", "Being a Hero Is Easy") skirt from ambient guitar and electronics to shoegaze-like passages of reverb and melancholy. At times reminiscent of Holler, Wild Rose! in mindset and sonic structure, De La Mancha continue said band's tendency of meshing somewhat contrasting genres into a single unique and cinematic sound.


Followed By Ghosts
Dear Monsters, Be Patient
Myspace

With 2007's self-titled debut album, Iowa quartet Followed By Ghosts introduced themselves to the post-rock scene in exceptional fashion, garnering attention from genre pundits and newcomers alike. While Followed By Ghosts was indeed well-deserving of its relative notoriety, the album was not without flaw, dragging a bit due to a possible lack of recording experience, and in some cases, musical substance. On their sophomore outing Dear Monsters, Be Patient, however, Followed By Ghosts fail to repeat any rookie missteps. Instead, the band expertly dish out piles of distortion atop gloomy melodies and elegant chord progressions. Dear Monsters, Be Patient also marks a shift towards more compact song structures, further highlighting the band's refined textures and triumphant mastery of the quiet-loud dynamic. In short, Dear Monsters, Be Patient represents what every avid post-rock listener yearns for but rarely sees accomplished: a fledgling band honing their craft and fulfilling the seemingly limitless potential of a solid debut release.