Excerpt: “The sun-splashed instrumental rock Apricot Rail delivers on its 2009 self-titled LP isn’t all-bombast all the time. Rather, the Australian outfit structures carefully these colorful compositions, so that woodwinds, strings, and dusty organ sounds are as critically important to the final product as the countless treble-heavy guitar tracks… At nearly six-and-a-half minutes, “Halfway House” begins somewhat like a prog-techno track, with prodding percussion and a micro patter of sound before everything comes together—large and small—in a development that showcases some of the most interesting moments this record has to offer. Apricot Rail does the Big Thing well, but these five talents just don’t need to rely on it.”