Though there’s always been a strong electronic influence in post-rock music, it’s rare for groups to lean on electronics above guitars.
What’s interesting about this Israeli band’s new release is how subtly guitars are used to counterpoint pulsing bass rhythms, sweeping oscillations or ominous pads. Tiny Fingers use their axes to accent, ornament and develop – jobs usually left to synths. Nevertheless, there are also the obligatory post-rock rushes of guitar, such as that found at the end of the title track, or the climax of Music For The Sun. For the most part, though, the instruments are more nuanced, having more in common with alternative rock/electronic crossover artists from the early 2000s, like Cooper Temple Clause and Vex Red. The brilliantly driving Traveller Soul recalls Failure’s Heliotropic by counterpointing kinetic bass and layered atmospherics, while Drops is perhaps more like post-Kid A Radiohead, ever so slightly jazzy and full of guitar/synth accents. The highlight, Nine Of Swords, swims in ominous, jerky guitars and bursts of disorientating glissando riffs. It may not be groundbreaking, but The Fall is bold and fun, with more than enough to keep the listener engaged.
