Spaced between Brooklyn and Austin, this trio knows how to blast some alt-rock.City of Ships is a three-piece outfit with members that aren't even living in the same town together. Not that it stops them from making some pretty bitching alternative, post-rock jams on their third studio album, Ultraluminal. And while you'd be tempted to fear a 90s retread, you'd be selling them short. This is pretty good stuff along the lines of a punkier Smithereens.
I only occasionally dabble in noise rock, but while the wall-o'-sound™ thing can sometimes be a turn-off, it's the melodic substructure of this band's music I dig (and it's not . There's a definite almost pop sensibility to the music, as if The Fray or John Mayer were playing their tunes while Mudhoney were also jamming on stage? Somehow it all works, though I am tempted to wonder if turning up the mix to favor the pop side a little more would make those tracks music more rewarding. Still, don't think I'm panning this. Songs like Metadata Blues or Illawarra Escarpment make you realize how good this band is, and that the noise rock stuff is merely one side of their style. Alternative rock may get a lot of shade thrown at it these days, though it's perhaps the fault of writers (Doh! That includes me doesn't it?) who can't seem to properly quantify some bands' sound, but good music is where you find it rather than what you call it.
The Bottom Line: City of Ships is an alternative band with a lean towards a grungier time in music, but there's plenty of good to be heard on Ultraluminal that might be missed if you approach it with a limited musical view.
- Genghis is wondering if these cats might be on to something...