Post-rock. Still with me? If you've been following independent rock music for more than a few years you're probably sick of hearing that term by now. What does it mean, anyway? It seems like any band with an album that has at least two songs over six minutes in length and music that lazy bloggers could describe as “epic” falls under the post-rock umbrella. Said bloggers will probably find a lot to love about Seattle band Post Harbor, who have that kind of music down to a science. The rises, the falls, the ending climaxes–everything you associate with post-rock is probably present in Post Harbor's second album, They Can't Hurt You if You Don't Believe in Them.

The album starts out with a couple of hard hitters. “Ponaturi” wastes little time messing around, coming out of the gates with some fierce rock power. Things subside slightly as the cello, the band's secret weapon, works its way into the mix. This segues perfectly into “Cities of the Interior,” where keys are eventually added to accentuate the song's earlier, louder sound. Between these two tracks are where most elements of Post Harbor's sound come into play, from quiet ambient passages to squealing guitars at the climax of “Cities.”

Post Harbor takes a few notes from the Explosions in the Sky school of post-rock in “Cities of the Interior.” The most noticeable aspect of EITS's sound is present in this song (aside from the larger-than-life guitars in the climax) in the drumming of Aaron Gustafson. During certain parts of the track barely audible soft snare rolls are juxtaposed with much harder snare hits to great effect, and the additional wash of cymbals over the proceedings only further helps the song stand out as one of the album's best. The track also follows an EITS-like structure; it builds, it slows down, it builds some more, it almost entirely stops, and then it explodes. Such a formula has been repeated often by many artists, but on “Cities of the Interior” Post Harbor make use of the formula as well as any other band ever has.

The fact that the drums pop out so much and the cello sounds so deep is a testament to the album's impressive production quality. While Post Harbor's music isn't the most original, the production is crisp, clear and refreshing. It's easy to pick out the different instruments and even easier to simply relax and let the music wash over you. In a music genre more suited to clean production, Post Harbor's bold decision to go against the current trend of lo-fi production is appreciated. In fact, the only questionable production decisions have to do with a somewhat minor feature of the album, that feature being vocals.

Vocals are used sparingly on They Can't Hurt You..., but when they are they're hit or miss. Anthony Carlucci's vocals are often reminiscent of Anthony Green's (of Circa Survive fame), if not quite as high-reaching. Other times, like in “Shirakashi,” Carlucci's vocals apparently are sung through a 2005-era Imogen Heap filter. You know, “Mmm what'cha say” and all that. Things get even stranger in “For Example, This is a Corpse,” where the singing evokes that of Maynard James Keenan from Tool and A Perfect Circle. Even though the main focus of Post Harbor's music isn't on the vocals, this variation in singing styles is somewhat off-putting.

After the opening two tracks, They Can't Hurt You... becomes more slow-moving and mellow. There are still some classic post-rock climaxes to be expected, but they're few and far-between. Post Harbor changes things up the most with “The End of Something Great is Coming” and “Intro” (interestingly listed as the album's final track). Both of these songs contain ambient soundscapes with some sampled vocals and noises thrown into the mix, and they're both among the best tracks on the album—probably because they deviate from the standard post-rock fare most of They Can't Hurt You... serves up. “Intro” closes the album in excellent fashion with chirping birds, beautifully played piano and barely audible voices that get quieter and quieter until the song and album gracefully bow out. While it might not sound that impressive, the song pulls off the rare accomplishment of putting one's mind completely at ease, which is kind of nice in today's oh-so-hectic world.

Aside from the mainly ambient tracks, Post Harbor works some good grooves into the latter half of the album, namely in “Caves, Hollow Trees and Other Dwellings” and “For Example, This is a Corpse.” Both tracks start off promisingly with ingratiating guitar hooks and bounding drums, but neither can hold much attention after the first minute or so. Unfortunately, the same goes for a fairly large portion of the album. While all the music on They Can't Hurt You... well performed, most of the songs lack those stand-out moments that keep listeners coming back for more. Coupled with the problem of unoriginality that plagues many post-rock bands, this album probably won't stay in rotation for too long, especially considering plenty of other bands are making similar music—much of which is better than what can be found on this album. However, Post Harbor has many key components in place (as previously mentioned, the production and musicianship are mostly excellent). With a more daring attitude, perhaps future albums from the band could prove more worthwhile.

Track List:
1. Ponaturi
2. Cities of the Interior
3. Shirakashi
4. With a Line Graph I Can Tell the Future
5. The End of Something Great Is Coming
6. Alia's Fane
7.Augustine
8. Caves, Hollow Trees and Other Dwellings
9. For Example, This Is a Corpse
10. Intro