Unwed Sailor

A friend and I were talking about instrumental post-rock bands, and how there really isn't anything new to say about them, and how there really hasn't been since Explosions in the Sky first came onto the scene in the earliest parts of this decade. It's like all those progressions and crescendos finally hit a peak with a lot of instrumental post-rock fanatics like myself, and everything that followed has been an avalanche of mediocrity. Two exceptions: Japan's Mono and Unwed Sailor, the decade-old band formed by Johnathon Ford that has had a large rotating cast of collaborators/tour mates. In a way, this might be the secret ingredient that makes Unwed Sailor try new things (like the cut-up drum samples on the title track of their latest, Little Wars, for example). Four like minds can only do so much without words—either they wind up scoring soundtracks or they continue putting out background mood music. But when you have 30 people putting their ideas together over time, there's bound to be another discovery just around the corner. With Sybris and Joy Wants Eternity. Sunset Tavern, 5433 Ballard Ave. N.W., 784-4880. 9 p.m. $7. TRAVIS RITTER
Mon., May 26, 9 p.m., 2008