Ah, Chicago. Toolmaker, stacker of wheat, land of post-rock. Yeah, post-rock's this place's gimmick. Take yourself down to the Empty Bottle or the Fireside Bowl on any given night of the week and subject yourself to the aimless meanderings and posing of the world's most pretentious art- college grads if you don't know what I'm talking about. But isn't it better than Utah?

Hey, I've got nothin' to bitch about. I like the aimless meanderings. I'm a sucker for the sound. Sure, it's all a little pretentious, but some of the best music is. (Look at Joan of Arc, for example... uh, okay, bad example.) You just gotta let your jaded ass get unjaded for an evening and relax, because for as played out as the sound is becoming, there's still some barrier- smashing talent out there.

La Makita Soma is two such talents. The band is comprised of former Bill Ding guy Dan Snazelle and Lustre King drummer Jay Dandurand. Together, they're pioneers of the post-rock promised land. Incorporating non-traditional instruments into their six, lengthy genre- jumping tracks benefits the band to no end. A xylophone and Casiotone meet up with some positively bitchin' results on "The Intern," and when a trumpet takes the lead halfway through the song, you're floored that the fusion even works.

But Monkey Island does, like all post-rock records, become a bit dull if you listen intently for too long. On a two- hour- long car ride from Minneapolis to tiny Glenwood, Minnesota, Monkey Island failed to distract me from my driving duties (which, in retrospect, was probably for the best). On the other hand, I threw this in the disc- changer at a recent get- together and people showed a great deal of interest. So, how about this: if you've spun your Tortoise discs into the ground and want something similar, but more creative and inventive, you may be interested in Livin' La Makita Soma.

-Ryan Schreiber