Vessels - Helioscope

2011 sophomore full-length from Leeds-based five-piece Vessels, recorded with Grammy-nominated producer John Congleton (Explosions in the Sky, This Will Destroy You, Modest Mouse) in the heat of the Texan summer, Helioscope is the sun-scorched yin to the yang of the snow-capped peaks of their 2008 debut, White Fields and Open Devices. Where it's predecessor was a studied exercise in structure that played many a post-rock trump card, this nine-song collection is free and loose, though hardly rough-edged or shabby of design. The cunningly crafted motifs and melodies burrow deep into the synapses with little resistance.