Instrumental post-rock is played by such a horde of bands these days it's often mentioned with a reluctance, one that bands distance themselves from and one that has begun to cause instant eye-rolling from some music fans. The same thing happens with all genres that cause excitement. It happened to nu-metal, to emo, to genres ending with 'core'. But this reviewer couldn't give a shit about the proliferation of bands you can easily connect with Explosions in The Sky and Mogwai, because though this rise sees a lot of 'knock-off (insert influential band)' and 'poor man's (insert band)', the fact is this kind of music is bastard fantastic.

Here, then, is Sweden's Tim, Face Berlin. They don't offer any breaks from the mould, they do sound like Mogwai and they do sound like Explosions In The Sky. But they also sound bloody brilliant. Four tracks make up this EP, and every one of them is immersive, expertly dynamic and as effective as background music as it is at consuming every ounce of your attention. Of the four, 'Flight' epitomises all that is good about the wonderful music that gets dragged under the post-rock banner; it begins as gentle as a caress and flows seamlessly into a dramatic, deafening soundscape of soaring guitars and cascading drums. It's been done a hundred times but it just does not get old.

Rating: 4/5 by Phill May

Tracklisting

1. Paths
2. Dawn
3. Flight
4. Lake

Further links

Tim, Face Berlin on Myspace

Sweeping sounds from post-rock Swedes Tim, Face Berlin