Rogue Wave Descended Like Vultures. Release Date : October 25, 2005. Label: Sub-Pop. Rating: Andy doesn't dig rating stuff. Subpop keeps whipping out the incredible bands. Of course, would you expect anything less of them? This album doesn't let you forget that immediately with a cacophanous cello-infused, galumping verse on "Bird On A Wire," the opening track. Amazing. There's about a million things this sort of reminds me of but the way it's all blended together makes it difficult to quite place. There's a bit of vintage Death Cab For Cutie in "Publish My Love." From some of the more unique tunes, they toss in some very stripped-down acoustic guitar numbers, like "Salesman At The Day Of The Parade" and "Love's Lost Guarantee." Echoey vocals, tippity drums, soft warm synth sounds, and subtle strings pull you through some of these tracks. They have a great grasp on subtleties like that. Oddly, the album seems to lose a bit of its punch the longer it goes on. Where the beginning is packed with those amusing quirky songs, the end tends to lean more towards the sleepy acoustic stuff. These are still delightful songs but much less engaging for their uniqueness. The lilting dance of "Catform" is fun... really peculiar synths and a jovial vocal melody. Again, fabulous command of subtle things that make huge differences. Little things to set them apart. They include fun cascading harmonies throughout as well that send you back in time. Sometimes, it's a party. Sometimes, it's naptime. Sometimes, you drive. Song of choice : "Catform" -Andy Scheffler Elsewhere Rogue Wave website Published : March, 2006.