When I hear an album and it reminds me of something I really like, or really liked at some point, I get excited. Sparrows Swarm and Sing! pulled me right back to my immense obsession with GYBE!, much like The Strange Death Of Liberal England made me reminiscent for latter-day ASMZ. This is not necessarily a good thing, nor is it very healthy for me to enjoy albums based purely on their ability to copy other bands (especially as someone who is meant to be above the cheap allure of low-level mimicry), but sometimes it’s hard to dislike something so similar to that which you once loved. What happens in this case however is decidedly easier to criticise. What we have from Utah’s Coup De Grace is a self-titled debut that is safer than nerf-warfare.

Let me explain: there are some truly beautiful sections within this self-titled debut, but almost all of them feel like they are so wholly restrained as to detract from the impact. Pieces like "Lost" look great and seem to flow smoothly enough, until you realize that this has indeed been done by quite a few bands over the years, including, but not limited to, Sickoakes and Motek. Guitar-driven delayed post-rock can only come so far, and it is when the risks are taken that things either fall flat on their face or excel beyond all expectations. What is extra disappointing here is that every now and then there is a burst of exciting beauty which could make the whole album, if only they had the guts to carry it on. In the middle of "Lost," for example, sits a wonderful analog interlude consisting of what sounds like a crackly Fender Rhodes, which then continues to play it’s downtrodden melody over a heavily-panned crisp drum sound, only to jump back to the standard post-rock cliché.

Certain tracks exacerbate this feeling, obviously being happy to sit in the pool of clichéd mediocrity that this genre has created in its wake, even fewer pieces continue to impress throughout, but more often than not it’s the shorter tracks that are obviously meant as fillers of sorts -- "Olivia In the Ocean," "Smoke Screens," and the We Vs. Death-esque "A Moth" being a couple of prime examples.

What is the most disappointing thing about this album is that it is clearly made by some highly skilled musicians with some great ideas, who feel that they need to follow this set pattern that has quite frankly become somewhat boring.  If the small risks taken were accentuated and continued, then, yes, it might fall flat on its face. What I feel would be much more likely to happen, however, is that with their skill at composing beautiful textures and their ability to change pace so effortlessly and effectively, they would have a great chance of becoming the next Caspian. For now however, I’ll keep this on my iPod and put up with pressing the skip button every now and then.

-Barry Smethurst