Were All the Different Deaths... a book, it would most likely take the form of solid genre fiction. The idea of genre fiction - be it a detective novel, mystery, or chicklit - is that in sculpting a plot, the author stops at several literary checkpoints along the way. These landmarks breed familiarity and comfort in the reader, allowing for coherent, if not predictable, advancement of the story. Much of the creative burden is lifted from the author's shoulders, and he or she is now left free to add the details, hopefully with more attention and focus than otherwise. The novel's success therefore hinges not upon genre tropes, but rather on how well the writer can fill in the blanks with interesting characterization and unique twists. As an example of this process, let's look at the hard-boiled detective novel. During the early to mid-twentieth century, Raymond Chandler mastered the art of the crime thriller; years later, writers such as Sue Grafton took cues from his body of work to pen succesful (albeit somewhat derivative) series of their own.

So where exactly does post-rock music fit into this literary paradigm? Well, if one thinks of a band like The Samuel Jackson Five as taking Chandler's place, Nicker Hill Orchestra's niche is quite clear. All the Different Deaths... becomes the "F" Is For Fugitive to TSJ5's The Long Goodbye.

I know that might all seem quite convoluted, but I can't think of a better way to describe this album's relation to music as a whole. The members of Nicker Hill Orchestra are not unique in the fact that their music owes a significant debt to earlier pioneers. But what separates them from the likes of, say, Parhelia, is how well they connect the dots.

In her review of their 2007 EP, If? Or Fades?, Holly Emblem describes a record that seems remarkably similar to All the Different Deaths.... This is readily confirmed upon listening to the EP. Many of the observations she makes of the former are in fact also true of the latter, right down to the Kevin Drew-esque vocal patterns that pepper the backend of "Sailor", the LP's second track. Such similarities might imply stagnation, but while I cannot claim that Nicker Hill Orchestra has radically reinvented itself, there are certainly signs of progress between the two releases. For one thing, the sound is decidedly less chimerical in nature. The folksy moments are absent here, the band having more or less chosen a traditional post-rock direction. Case in point, the album's opener "Say Goodbye, I'll Never See You Again!" embodies the classic conflict of tension and release, its percussive build-ups and imperfect cadences executed with textbook precision. The disc lags a bit during its midsection, but any fatigue on the part of the listener is quickly forgotten upon "Vortex"'s immensely satisfying coda.

As has become a somewhat standard concluding observation, All the Different Deaths...and Rebirths does not break very much new ground as standard genre fare. But Nicker Hill Orchestra, given the confines in which they work, provide enough embellishment to - however incrementally - advance the post rock sound a few steps into the future.

The devil, you see, is in the details.

-Andy Kissner