Good old-fashioned math rock in the classic mid-'90s style, Lebanon are not from Louisville or Chicago, but Tel Aviv. (Yes, they're an Israeli band called Lebanon. Go figure.) Their all-instrumental debut consists of ten lengthy slices of neo-progressive heavy guitar rock, filled with all the requisite fleet-fingered soloing, tricky time signature shifts, and stop-on-a-dime dynamics that fans of bands like
Polvo or
Don Caballero would require, mixed with a little bit of stoner rock heaviness in the manner of
At the Drive-In or
the Mars Volta.
Planet Rubble is more than competent, and certainly a fine addition to a style that's no longer particularly well-trafficked, but there's little to entice the casual listener. The twin guitar solos aren't especially dramatic, drummer Ira Morstyn isn't particularly exciting beyond the expected ability to execute the occasional flashy paradiddle, and there are few moments of jaw-dropping instrumental frenzy. For serious math rock fans only, then. ~ Stewart Mason