(ATP Recordings)

www.atpfestival.com/atp-recordings

Apse’s new hour-long album, originally released in 2006 on Acuarela Discos, is not so much a collection of songs as it is a mood piece, a post-rock collage of tribal patterns and primal rock ‘n’ roll. The sextet, fronted by singer and multi-instrumentalist Robert Toher, will probably draw comparisons to progenitors of Krautrock like Can and Neu!, and certainly to the moody atmospherics of bands like Mogwai and Sigur Ros. But, upon closer examination, things aren’t quite that simple, as elements of ambient and minimal electronic music also surface at unexpected moments.

At first listen, Apse appears to be beating the same rhythms, and even the same note, repeatedly over the head. Tempos are slow and sludgy with song lengths often breaking the five-minute mark, as pounding bass patterns and echoing drum riffs moor the songs’ ethereal vocals and guitar effects – best exemplified on “Blackwood Gates” and the title track. But Spirit slowly finds its own unique voice – quite literally, as Toher’s unconventional, helium-infused vocals scrape the ceiling. The lyrics may not always be recognizable, but the emotions are.

Apse’s greatest strength, though, lies in its ability to make post-rock conventions sound fresh and interesting, not an easy task in our sometimes-oversaturated world of music.

Standout Tracks: “Spirit,” “Blackwood Gates” JONAH FLICKER