As a belated introduction to the other U.K. post-rock group taking the indie music world by storm (because, let’s be honest, caroline just isn’t close to a contender for 2nd place at the moment), Ants From Up There is far from an indispensable release. Recent post-rock releases have leaned heavily on musicianship alone to persuade the listener, and Ants is no exception. The dynamics of the songwriting itself, however, pales in comparison to its sonic technical counterpart. It was during the third song with lyrics ululating about the Concorde airliner when the house of cards fell apart. The clunky attempt at down-to-earth imagery in “The Place Where He Inserted the Blade” best exemplifies how otherwise compelling emotional crescendos are undermined by amateurishly sung words like “clean your soup-maker and breathe in your chicken, broccoli, and everything.” It’s as earnest as it is lacking in charm. While the performances aren’t worth dismissing themselves, soppy melodies and melodrama have materialized into better products than this pretentious equivalent of a Killers album.
★★★
Delian Media 
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