The Pirate Ship Quintet - Self-Titled Ep (Sound Devastation Records)

Not really a 5 piece band, but more of a 14 legged army of musicians, The Pirate Ship Quintet are another young British band intent on creating lavish instrumental soundscapes. This is all getting a bit tedious, isn't it?. Not if TPSQ have anything to do with it. Like Yndi Halda a few years ago, these young upstarts are dragging a stagnant post-rock scene out of the mire of mediocrity using their raw materials to meld something new. They have big ideas, bucketloads of ambition and most importantly the charisma to pull it all off. Witness the jaw-dropping "Pirate Ship", the final track of this ep. A dynamic mix of brass, string arrangements and distortion. It is dramatic and euphoric music, that summons the spirit of the much missed Godspeed collective.

"I Kina Spiser De Hund", meanwhile, comes across like a classically trained Red Sparowes. Maintaining their American conuterparts metallic edge, TPSQ add sombre piano lines and layers of heart-breaking violin, to create a mini-symphony that explodes like a volcano. There's plenty on offer on this 30 minute, 3-track Ep to suggest TPSQ are here to stay. Huge expectations have been placed on this band by those left disappointed by Explosions In The Sky's return earlier this year. If this Ep is anything to go by, this young septet have the abiltity to take instrumental music into uncharted territories.

Rating - 87%

Stream
Order