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Score: 7/10

Ever since the dawn of time, the ultimate post-rock cliche has been to point out the resemblance between the band in question and Explosions in the Sky. Your average music reviewer (known as “muggles” to The Silent Ballet staff) knows of only three instrumental bands – Mogwai, Godspeed You! Black Emperor and EITS – and will invariably name-check one of the trio in relation to any post-rock band they’re asked to review.

Members of The Silent Ballet staff are far more sophisticated than that, however. Each of us are wired into an intricate network involving around 70 million post-rock bands, with numerous sound-alikes, influences and factoids about each one. It’s also not a rumour that to be allowed to write for The Silent Ballet, you have to be able to identify, from obscure 50 millisecond song clips, not only the band and song in question, but also the colour of socks worn by the drummer at the time of recording and the bassist’s preferred brand of soft drink.

It is on this note, then, that I would like to point out that the band which Polish quintet California Stories Uncovered primarily resemble is Explosions in the Sky. There, I’ve said it. Please don’t flame me. Such mimicry isn’t necessarily a bad thing: This Will Destroy You make a living from being professional EITS impersonators; Sparrows, Swarm and Sing! clearly want to be GY!BE; Part Rocket blatantly worship the hallowed ground on which Mogwai strut their stuff; and Roncatto Braathen wish they were, well, half decent. That doesn’t stop TWDY being one of my favourite bands; I’m always happy to listen to SSaS or Part Rocket; and I’ve discovered that Roncatto Braathen CD’s make excellent miniature Frisbees.

Anyway, I digress. I’m sure sceptics would try to point out a million and one bands with which CSU have more in common, and the more aurally impaired listeners might claim that they are refreshingly original. Well, that’s not quite true. The addition of keyboards (which weren’t present in the original CSU line-up) does give the sound a bit of a twist (more All Of A Sudden I Miss Everyone than The Earth Is Not A Cold Dead Place, shall we say), and CSU’s music is perhaps more uplifting. It’s far from original though.

The next point I would like to make about California Stories Uncovered is that they are actually rather good; this EP has undoubtedly catapulted them straight to the top of my list of favourite Polish instrumental acts. Starting with the creatively titled “Untitled 1” – to me, the best track on the EP – CSU immediately make known their intention to play nice, cheerful-sounding instrumental songs, beginning with chiming guitars and…and…is that an e-bow a la “Memorial”? Perhaps. At around the four-minute mark there is some effective interplay between bass and keyboards, before the guitars return to end the song with a thunderous crescendo.

“Untitled 2” starts with a tuneful keyboard-led melody overlaid with Mono-esque tremolos; there is a marked change of direction at the half-way point, with bass once more rising to prominence along the appearance of some rough and ready chords which reach deafening levels before fading out at almost 7 and a half minutes. Effective, if a little on the formulaic side. The last two tracks are similarly good, although I would be very surprised if CSU hadn’t listened to AndyDickTracyMorganFreeman before writing “Untitled 3.”

Let’s face it, EITS are one of the more accessible instrumental bands out there, and are more than likely represent the entry point for most peoples first foray into the wonderful world of post-rock. There are bound to be mimics – out of reverence if nothing else. In my eyes, California Stories Uncovered are highly influenced by the Texan foursome, with a comparable sound and employing quiet-loud dynamics to similar effect. But CSU are particularly skilled in this art; don’t let an apparent paucity of new ideas put you off, this EP represents a thoroughly decent listen.

–Richard White

Written By: host
Date Posted: 7/12/2007
Number of Views: 1365