"If These Trees Could Talk have an astonishing handle on how to go about presenting instrumental music correctly, with a sense of a voice in instrumental lines, tasteful use of distortion and technically proficient playing. Repetition and delay on this..."If These Trees Could Talk have an astonishing handle on how to go about presenting instrumental music correctly, with a sense of a voice in instrumental lines, tasteful use of distortion and technically proficient playing. Repetition and delay on this release is used far more effectively than the vast majority of instrumental bands. It would be conceivable to call them a math rock band with soul and or a post-rock band with an ability to play musical instruments properly. Contrasts between distortion and clean sounds are exploited throughout the piece, particularly in "Signal Hill," and this adds to the frenetic dynamic of the band. Three guitar lines sweep through and around each other supported by the outrageous grooves of the rhythm section. It is traditional post-rock dynamics, taking after Slint's Spiderland, but sped up, and given a Don Caballero-esque dosage of repeatrepeatrepeat. The end result of this rock minimalism feast, unsurprisingly, is highly arousing. Another asset of If These Trees Could Talk is their ability to pull off musical ideas with a succinctness that is so lacking in many other instrumental acts. The band works at a pace which leaves other such acts flailing their stringed instruments in the dust. Quite simply, the music is breathtaking, near-flawless and tight." -Marcus Whale http://www.thesilentballet.com/reviews/ifthesetreescouldtalk.html
