Midas Fall – Wilderness

The glitchy laptop beats and sparse, guitar-based atmospherics on Midas Fall's second full-length puts them neatly in line with label-mates 65daysofstatic, but such comparisons are only partly useful in pinning down their sound. Their most striking feature lies in Elizabeth Heaton's dramatic, impassioned vocal performances. At times, the subtler instrumental sections don't match the ambition of her voice, but when the two are playing to each other's strengths during the big crescendos (Borders, Fight First), the results are almost always powerful.

At their best, they're a welcome addition to an increasingly complex post-rock map; The Moon and the Shine and Your Heart, Your Words, Your Nerves effectively carry the cinematic air of bands like Oceansize and Aereogramme, but when they're less inspired, they drift into middle-of-the-road soft-rock, most notably on the minimalist title track which closes the record. Though it sticks rigidly to a well-worn formula, Wilderness succeeds on the weight of its emotional punch. [Ross Watson]