Five years between albums can be a career killer, particularly for an indie band who don’t even fit the usual indie mold. One thing this new disc — Film School’s first since their cheekily titled 2001 debut, Brilliant Career — has going for it is a foot in a neo-new-wave door that opens to reveal heavily textured, dark toned, dreampop guitars à la late-’80s Cure and My Bloody Valentine. There’s also a fair bit of Joy Division nostalgia locked in these angular post-punk grooves, courtesy of driving, melodic bass lines, and muscular backbeats — the moody guitar and keyboard ambiance of “Pitfalls” and “11:11” at times seem to be along just for the ride. “On & On” echoes with the ephemeral ring of Bunnyman Will Sergeant’s guitar style. And flecks of electronica dance through “Sick of the Shame.” The layered closer, “P.S.,” finds Film School’s various influences coalescing as a prominent keyboard line bumps up against New Ordered guitars and a snatch of violin pokes up through the melodic mist.
Film School + Cloud Room | March 6 | T.T. the Bear’s Place, 10 Brookline Street, Cambridge | 617.492.BEAR
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On the Web:
Film School: http://www.filmschoolmusic.com/
