Windsor For The Derby

This Philadelphia band is celebrating its tenth anniversary with its fifth full-length release and on these precise, muted tracks they make a striking, if not always enthralling, impression. Not wasting any time, opener "The Melody of a Fallen Tree,” clocks in as the electro-epic. With its prolonged ending of techno-lite beats and guitar flourishes, it gets both feet shuffling, but goes on about two minutes too long. In fact, electronic beats and rhythms intermingling with more organic guitars is the tone of the album. "Nightingale” is scarily close to being a Beta Band b-side, while "Black Coats” and the title track revel in a noisier indie rock genre where the energy rises considerably. They almost come as an eye-opener to some of the lulling, laid-back intricate beats that tend to dominate We Fight Til Death. Although, the main tracks may not fully get the blood pumping, the professionalism and craft show that Windsor for the Derby are no slouches when it comes to putting together affecting tunes. However, it seems like energy wasted on some of the more flighty, low-involvement tunes. Despite the title, it seems they aren’t aggressive enough, which although may be a boon in today’s political environment, it doesn’t make for the most engrossing listen.