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