Cities

It appears it will only be a matter of time before the surging post-punk trend buckles and crumbles, dragged down by an abundance of sound-alike bands obstinately clutching their copies of Entertainment! and Closer. It doesn’t take especially bad music to do this — the saturation of airwaves, blogs and press by masses of middling outfits who would have never achieved such prominence five years ago will do the trick. Cities’ self-titled debut is an example of one of those passable efforts that fall under the umbrella of the new post-punk, first brought into mainstream consciousness by the Rapture and Interpol in the early ’00s. Granted, the LP may not be as conveniently filed under this heading as some others — the influence of Bends-era Radiohead is undeniable. Still, there is precious little that has not been heard before. Cities take a no-frills approach to songwriting, keeping experimentation to a relative minimum on what is ultimately a brooding, straight ahead indie rock record. While the occasional head bobber ("Capitol”) rears its head now and again, this debut is an LP that further dilutes a genre that has started becoming noticeably watered down.