The Shape of Fiction

With Tel Aviv, the habit Teenbeat's head Mark Robinson has of signing bands that bear a resemblance to his own Unrest pays off -- The Shape of Fiction breaks away from the minimal instrumental orientation of the band's previous releases to recapture the warmth and torpor of Unrest's most whispery moments. When the band chooses to include vocals ("I Am Particular"), the similarities are clear but largely unimportant, given Tel Aviv's skillful use of the sound; when they stay with the delicately ringing guitar organizations of their previous records, they manage to find something equally appealing but entirely particular to their work. This makes The Shape of Fiction their best work, in some ways -- it's a bit more varied and ambitious than albums like Tel Aviv, and it hints that the band would make quite an amazing, mellow pop outfit, if they so desired.