The Rock Blogger

The Drift . Memory Drawings . 2008. 3.5 stars .

San Francisco’s The Drift specialize in chilled out, emotional post-rock that is heavily influenced by jazz and dub traditions, crafting a warm and boisterous sound that should please fans of Tortoise and Toronto’s own Do Make Say Think. Relying on tight interactions between the trumpet, synths, wiry guitars and offbeat drumming, the melodies on their sophomore album Memory Drawings are instantly captivating.

While more guitar based post-rock bands (Mogwai, Explosions in the Sky) focus on tension and release in their slow building epics, The Drift occupy a more relaxed and colorful zone, as brassy waves of trumpet wash over the steady (upright) bass rhythms and shimmering guitars. The band’s technique and layered compositions make for an entertaining and often hypnotic listen, as they effectively create a sense of space with their music. Living up to the lofty aspirations of the genre, The Drift’s blend of post-rock is almost magical in its execution, as it tightly wraps your senses in a comfortable cocoon.

The album is completely instrumental and refrains from indulging in flashy solos or pretentious sonic experiments. While the consistency across these 7 songs is welcoming and accessible, it leaves them all sounding rather similar, as the band are reluctant to burst from the beautiful womb they’ve built for themselves. Despite the lack of variety on this disc, the entire experience is enjoyable and entrancing.

If you are interested in picking this up, head over the band’s label Temporary Residence .

This entry was posted on Thursday, April 10th, 2008 at 8:55 am and is filed under Reviews. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.