MOVING MOUNTAINS

I am not much of an emo fan, but I do appreciate good post rock especially when it varies from the norm. There is some variance here, so that is a good thing. The first track is the title track and it establishes the sound that is prevalent in this album. The dynamics however are not always a slow build up, but sometimes it can be instant, The emotional singing when it does come in is not overly obnoxious either, so that is a plus. The 2nd track called "With One's Heart in One's Mouth" is actually an improvement. There are some tricky rhythms throughout and the build-up is quick and emotional. The vocals here are somewhat abrasive though as it approaches screaming, but it doesn't last too long before the climax is reached. If you listen closely, you can hear a sound buried in the mix that sounds a lot like some keyboard effects, but there is no keyboard credited here, so it could be a guitar sound, but it's hard to place it because it is in the mix quite deeply. After the climax, there is an explosive sound that reverberates as the tone calms and the formula works backwards. There are some nice sounds as the tone cools down and some reverse guitar sounds come through. It works well as a transition to the next track.

"Armslength" is the shortest track at over 7 minutes and starts out acoustic immediately with some nice vocals. The vocals don't become extreme in this track and the acoustic builds to some extent, but it mostly stays mellow and nice. It's interesting that there are some tinkling sounds in there that are bells or chimes of some kind, again not credited. The last track "Lights and Shapes" works more off of ebbs and flows, softs and louds, with a nice use of dynamics which is rare in post rock. I swear though that there is a string sound in there and it is even more obvious this time. Whatever it is, whether it's a bowed guitar (which I doubt), it is a very nice touch. I'm sure it's the same sound as before, but much more obvious. This last track in my opinion is the best because of the varied use of dynamics.

Overall, this is a nice sampling of their music. 4 tracks at over 35 minutes is just the right dose of this music. I really enjoy the sound even despite the vocals, but it would be hard to sustain the sound for a full album and keep it interesting without some more variation. I would rate this at 4 stars as it is, even with the shortness of the E.P. because I think it's more effective in it's smaller format. I don't know how well the albums have worked for them unfortunately because this is the only recording that I have heard. But it is well done and merits some more exploration. I guess that makes this a great entrance into their discography, which is currently not very large.