Romance of Young Tigers

What initially sounds like another young band that have been possessed be the Godspeed/Mogwai demons gradually reveal themselves to be something a little trickier and less obvious. The Dayton, OH quartet do make trade with the tension building and shimmering echo of post-rock guitar but the release that usually comes when drums crash in is absent, as are the drums or any percussion at all, actually. Far from exploring Fripp/Eno ambiance, the four long pieces build bricklike walls of sound. "We Sing Sin," the longest of the four, eases out with gentle waves over electric piano and spacious bass patterns. The waves climb higher and higher until the distortion pedals trigger perfect storm-level chaos. "Cease Silent Soft Choir" explores low-level digital noise that's gradually blended with degenerative guitar that again hits heavy chops. To the band's credit, they managed to hit the right duration (37 minutes) for something that might become derivative, instead leaving room for wanting more.