It's something of a cliche these days to suggest that Sheffield City Council have been adding something to their water, a special ingredient that enhances its resident's musical acumen; after all, some of the most exciting bands of the past twenty years have hailed from the South Yorkshire city. Whatever supplement the city chiefs have clandestinely provided their habitants with doesn't seem to have affected every band, however; 65daysofstatic, for example, have perhaps been guzzling Evian instead. The instrumental math-rockers are (falsely?) rumoured to have formed in 2001 solely for the purpose to soundtrack Kurt Russell flop Stealth Bomber; but while that sounds like the stuff of myth, there is certainly a cinematic bent to the quartet's sound. After two well-received, but dubiously successful albums - 2004's The Fall of Math and its successor, One Time for All Time - The Destruction of Small Ideas sees 65days plough the same consistent, if not completely drab furrow as its predecessors. While it may be difficult for many instrumental bands to find their niche, never mind gain mainstream success, this is an album that's a) lacking in invention or any sort of peculiarity for the former and b) far too intense for the latter. 90% of the tracks here are tedious and hackneyed jobs that extend way beyond their welcome (Don't Go Down Sorrow, These Things You Can't Unlearn, Little Victories), and while there are genuine moments of brilliance and innovation at certain points - mainly the dark, atmospheric classical piano and violin interludes that are littered throughout the album and are entirely unexpected - there is no bona fide ingenuity here. It's only the trinity of Wax Futures (electro undertones, marching drum beat and melodic xylophone explodes into post-rock scuzzfest), Music Is Music (ominous, epic hum that sounds like it was lifted from the 28 Days Later soundtrack) and the aforementioned sinister, cinematic White Peak/Dark Peak, that save this album from full-blown tedium and overblown prog (Mars Volta are an obvious influence). Best switch to tap water for the next album, lads.

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