The drawback of post-rock is that, unless you're a devotee to the genre, it can come over as boring and indulgent. While Sigur Ros have some truly amazing songs, it means trawling through hours of what are essentially the same dull atmospherics over and over again to pick out the good bits. The same goes for less ambient acts such as Godspeed You! Black Emperor, a band who undoubtedly have created some wonderful sounds, but to most people's ears a load of ten minute songs full of crashing drums and icy guitar-scapes are all well and good for soundtracking a documentary about icebergs crashing into the sea, but for listening enjoyment they'd probably prefer some actual tunes.
So while such albums might be perfect to leave lying on the coffee table to make those dinner party guests think you're all high-brow, you're probably going to stick The Beach Boys Greatest Hits on after they've gone. Helsinki-based quintet All Will Be Quiet have so far impressed with a couple of singles that incorporate chin-stroking atmospherics with actual enjoyable songs, successfully capturing the best of both worlds and transcending the gap between the accomplished and the accessible. Both 'Wide Eyes & Space Flights' and 'The First Day Part 2' are included here and still impress with their grandeur and panoramic production.
Joining this pair in the cathedral-sized yet approachable stakes are the splendid 'The First Day Part 1' and highlight 'Writing History' which with appeal to both fans of 90's Radiohead, Doves and more left-field dreampop adventurers. Much of the album covers similar areas of this vast territory with a commendable outcome. However 'On The First Day' does begin to tail-off towards the end. After the ironically soaring 'Sinking Ship', the final brace of songs stretch well over the six-minute mark and fall foul of the indulgence temptation. Both are decent tracks, both would benefit from being more concise. Still, 'On The First Day' on the whole is an excellent foray into the world of post-rock, and one that will appeal to those who don't normally venture into this kind of musical region. Plus it's definitely more exciting than the new Sigur Ros album.
All Will Be Quiet's website
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