Post Rock Defends the Nation does manage to maintain the complexity needed for things to not lapse into a state of monotony: "What We Need" and "Why This Could Never Work Between Us" sound like the Strokes covering XTC, but then "Between the Moon and the Ocean" moves with a subtle disco guitar melody, and just when you think the song is going to explode into the traditional guitar-wall of noise, you hear castanets. Yes, castanets. "Final Grade" is a post-rock waltz, and the album ends with a delay-pedal-heavy, dreamy pop song called "I Am the Atom Bomb."
The title track, though, is where the Bon Savants really show off their ability to mask sentiment in musical understatement: "The revolution's at hand. Let's form a rock 'n' roll band," sings Moran in an almost emotionless voice. The guitars sweep like they would in a love song, and Moran sings, "Let's drink until there's a world again, and talk of new beginnings." Apathy and ironic detachment, meet your maker. Fuck you, thermodynamics, indeed.
