Balmorhea: "Harm & Boon"

This week I have been mostly listening to Balmorhea—not an audible tropical skin disease but a post-rock quintet from Texas. Boy, is there a shortage of them at the minute: jammers from the dunes of the waning wide West, each preaching open mic from behind a partition of feedback. On the basis of the quixotic quintet factor alone, you’d be ready to call in Mr T’s Snickers Pickup, but believe it or not Balmorhea are qualified musicians first and visceral vegans about eleventh. Their music is best classed as space-rock you can squeeze in tuxedos, and their classical leanings have earned them some choice billing with everyone from Grouper to Stars of the Lid. Album number three drops this week and “Harm & Boon” is the official taster: a stock piano line that ripens into something poetic and punchy, the drums and string section introducing Dirty Three to Godspeed. Easy names to sling around in the grand hall of post-rock networking, I know, but the fact “Harm & Boon” is over too quickly at eight minutes straight shows you this is one very smart can of worms you’re about to open, not just your usual din and crappy chord template. If the album’s as rambunctious as this fix of fireworks then you can expect the heavens to rattle, the hush and comedown lasting for days.