There are two ways to take My Education's brand of instrumental post-rock: you can love it, as we did their previous album, 5 Popes, or you can be utterly indifferent toward it. Unfortunately for My Education, in Italian's case, the latter response seems much more likely. Much like 5 Popes, these nine songs flow together into one big piece; unlike that album, however, Italian can't muster the stylistic diversity necessary for any of its songs to really stand out. The result is a sense that you've been listening to the same song over and over again for more than an hour. "Thanksgiving" sounds like "Texas Style" sounds like "Green Arrow", and all of them sound more or less like the instrumental interlude of whatever bland anthem Coldplay or U2 have elected to release this week.

There's no question that My Education have talent, and it's obvious that they know their way around their instruments, but Italian will make you wish that they'd done a bit more with their knowledge.