In the fine tradition of post-rock, The Winchester Club’s debut Britannia Triumphant requires only 3 tracks to call itself an album. But unlike their heroes Godspeed You! Black Emperor, the band’s average track duration is around 12 minutes, making the album 35 minutes in length, or roughly the post-rock equivalent of a Strokes record. However, even in this space of time there is more than enough material to realize the band’s particular strengths and weaknesses.

For those seeking a description of the band’s sound, I would say it lies somewhere close to God Is An Astronaut, with a similar technique of emphasizing the bass and drums to give tracks a foreboding undercurrent. Added to this mix is an interesting range of guitar textures, which provide anything from moody backing to driving movement. In this respect, there are occasions where the The Winchester Club recalls the sound of Mogwai or EitS, particularly through the shifting dynamic from quiet to loud in the opening title track. The follower, “Settle Down” uses an underlying delay-saturated guitar to create an intoxicating background where the bass and drums seem to stomp all over the place like slow angry giants. Closer “…But there is no Space” puts something of a Low spin on this sound, beginning with a set of slow, raw guitar chords which continue for 7 minutes before the track breaks into their familiar build to close the album.

All 3 tracks are well mixed, and aside from the overly repetitious closing track there isn’t a great deal to criticize about the band’s compositions. There is, however, one fairly major criticism which I would offer. The group seems greatly dependent on the use of samples to carry the listener’s interest, and in each case these samples seem to be given more space than they deserve. For example, the title track uses inexplicable (but admittedly quite amusing) samples of what sounds like random numbers spoken in German. “Settle Down,” not content to be simply relaxing in itself, includes a female voice telling the listener to ‘allow yourself to relax…forget all your responsibility…forget all your problems…and simply experience this moment.’ Whether intentional or otherwise, the track ends up feeling rather tongue-in-cheek (I found myself half waiting for the voice to say ‘Remember the breathing techniques from Tape 1’, but alas no such luck.) Probably the closest to your average post-rock sample used on the album is that at the beginning of “…But there is no Space”; an old man rants a socio-political truth echoing the track’s discontented, melancholic feel. Ironically, the use of samples works best here on what is otherwise probably the least engaging track on the album.

I can’t help but feel that the band would greatly benefit from having more confidence in their songs' ability to carry themselves. Either that or they should try to be more careful with their employment of sample material. Subtlety is the key here, since even the right sample can ruin an otherwise excellent track if it is placed too high in the mix. Other than this however, I don’t see why The Winchester Club couldn’t go on to create an excellent follow up record, since Britannia Triumphant, while flawed, definitely hints at the band’s musical potential.

-Alan Miles