Penelope sulla Luna - My Little Empire

Thus the ranks of the heavyweight post-rock genre swell even more as this Italian quintet toss their artistic hat into the ring. Opening full number Back to the Teenage suggests they fancy themselves as something of a doomy outfit akin to Pelican. It works to some extent, although the production here is too polite to really convey the weight and misanthropy required for that kind of sound. The record is far more at ease when Penelope sulla Luna veer towards the more ethereal twiddlings of Explosions in the Sky. They construct numerous pleasant and occasionally seductive swells of noise and the sinister Melodia is a particularly good example of pace and dramatic tension, enjoying more than six minutes of gradual building before emerging into a direct, driving refrain. Though My Little Empire doesn't quite compete with many of the genre's leading lights, it is certainly an admirable piece of work and could translate beautifully to a live setting. [Chris Cusack]