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ALL HARM ENDS HERE
(Secretly Canadian)
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Although the recent re-formation of the seminal Louisville math-rock outfit Slint is a pleasant surprise for anyone who didn’t see the band in their original late-’80s incarnation, the group’s legacy hasn’t exactly gone missing from the current indie map. Plenty of bands still toil away at the sort of measured crescendi and intricate guitar interplay Slint specialized in, especially in quiet Midwestern cities where there are few distractions from long, concentrated rehearsals of long, concentrated songs. On their fourth album, the Bloomington (Indiana) group Early Day Miners ply those trusty math-rock techniques with grace and confidence. In the opening "Errance," guitarists Dan Burton and Joseph Brumley layer a spindly lead line and a smattering of power chords over a rolling pattern by drummer Matt Griffin; in "Townes," those guitars turn to liquid mercury and the delicate bleat of a harmonica enters the mix. Lovely as it is, the music on All Harm Ends Here often lacks much in the way of its own personality; sometimes it sounds enough like Slint that it might as well be. On a few occasions, like the pretty "The Union Trade," the Miners invest their careful playing with roots-rock heart; it’s less respectful but more memorable. (Early Day Miners play this Tuesday, March 15, at P.A.’s Lounge, 345 Somerville Avenue in Somerville; call 617-776-1557.)
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