MP3: Ef - Ett
Despite the ridiculous, pretentious title, Ef's debut full-length "Give me beauty... or give me death!" is actually quite good. I didn't really have high expectations since I found their earlier demo material to be lacking, but I have to admit that they really pulled it together. The playing is much more solid and the arrangements are tight and really flow nicely, exactly the way good post-rock should. Perhaps they listened to my criticism that "less is more" because the busy math-rock riffs I disliked in the past are gone. Regardless of where the inspiration came from, it's a marked improvement. This particular track I've posted also shows that these guys are more than capable of incorporating string arrangements as well. Genre aficionados will probably complain that the songwriting isn't all that original (it's not), but it's solid enough that I don't care. It sounds good and that's enough for me. Originality it totally overrated anyway.
Ef - Ett