Aoccdrnig to a rcenet sutdy at Cmabrigde Uinervtisy, it deosn't mttaer in waht oredr the ltteers in a wrod are, as the olny iprmoetnt tihng is taht the frist and lsat ltteer be at the rghit pclae. The rset can be a total mses and you can sitll raed it wouthit a porbelm, bcuseae the huamn mnid deos not raed ervey lteter by istlef, but the wrod as a wlohe.

And listening to Long Island’s *On The Might Of Princes *you sense that perhaps the same could be said of their music. Rather than play out any tried and tested routes, they take a post-hardcore soundboard and smash it up into a splintering, abrasive mix of intricate free-spirited interplays that often have a mind of their own and in turn make _‘Sirens’ _such a commanding listen.

And it’s when it all comes together that sparks of effervescence shoot out and hit you straight through the heart, like in the compelling closer ‘Cloak And Dagger’ _or _‘The Swell and The Breaking’, Jason Rosenthal’s impassioned vocals taking a stranglehold on you as this is all played out. However, for all it’s wondrously weaving melodies it is, essentially, it’s fractured structure that can at times leave you on tenterhooks for another special moment of genius, with far too many almost ad lib explorations - something post-hardcore does have an incestuous proclivity for.

And because of this, it results in an album less self-assured in it’s urgency, it’s many musical pathways not as clear-cut as a band such as The Mars Volta which although unsettling and awkward to listen through at times, is also all the more reason to channel your attention on soaking up their atonal experimentations.

Indeed, background music this is not intended to be, as this is an album that I guarantee will be unravelling itself in your life for months to come. And if you like that thought then I assure you this CD will not leave your stereo for a very long time.