reviewed by Rhombus 
Old World Vulture is a blooming instrumental post-rock band from Toronto, fresh on the scene, and their self titled debut EP is something that I can comfortably to recommend to fans of the genre.
This EP essentially contains almost everything you can ask for in a post-rock outing and is slightly less pretentious than your average experimental band. Old World Vulture keeps their songs locked down to around the four-minute length, which is a great escape from the stereotypical 43-minute single-chord progression songs that may be found on a post-rock album (I say that in good humor, as post-rock is a great sub-genre, but it’s still good to see a band that chooses not to get carried away themselves.)
What’s primarily good about the album is how ‘powerful’ the sound is, if that makes any sense. Old World Vulture definitely functions well as a unit, with the band giving some pretty emotionally gripping songs, and they produce the most important element of post-rock (in my opinion), the atmosphere. I recommend listening to this EP in the dark with headphones, the over-enthusiastic snob that I am.
The only real criticism that I can give is that the song structures could use polish. By that, I do NOT mean they have to make longer songs or follow a ‘traditional’ format. The rhythms and melodies are compelling when listened to on their own, but when connected, they don’t really form memorable songs. You may be thinking that I should get my head out of my ass and that post-rock doesn’t need structure, but I’d argue that bands like Mogwai and Godspeed You! Black Emperor have almost symphony-like compositions that while not adhering to any traditional formats, still have excellent transitions between riffs, intros, drum rolls, etc. The songs have a tendency to feel closer to jams than songs, and as a result the tracks flow into each other (not to say that this EP is monotonous, which it isn’t).
Complain as I may about the compositions, music on this EP is still pretty powerful post-rock that doesn’t come across as being self-indulgent or pretentious. The production fits like a glove, and the EP is never boring. If the band could organize their tunes with just a little more polish, they’d be unstoppable.
Rating: Strong Hoot (Good)
