I came across this record in the reviewer pool. It was described as German punk. This is German, but it sure isn't f**king punk. Arktika is a post-rock band from Cologne, Germany founded in 2008. They have previously released a two song LP called "Heartwrencher" and towards the end of 2010 put out there follow up "At Zero". I haven't heard "Heartwrencher", but given the two song LP description I imagine they have shortened their songs up quite a bit on this release. Having said that, these songs still range from five to eleven minutes long. Like most post-rock albums there are build ups galore on each track. Some tracks evolve into that familiar guitar fronted wall of sound while others fade into the distance. This is all pretty standard stuff for the post-rock genre. Like most bands playing this style it is hard to take anything away from the band though. It seems odd to say it is a pretty safe genre to play these days, but I think the current roster of artists under the banner of post-rock has multiplied at a rate much higher than others. Arktika do a few things to differentiate themselves from the pack. The amount of vocals are significantly more than their peers. Unfortunately they are pretty f**king awful and sound like a crybaby mushmouth motherf**ker. Still, at the least it adds a layer that most of these bands don't possess. Aside from my few gripes, this is still pretty good stuff though. I wish the emo Oscar the Grouch dude would shut the f**k up, but he lives in a trash can, I get why he is sad. I know for a fact that lots of people are into this type of **** right now and will thoroughly enjoy the songs on "At Zero". I would suggest checking these guys out to almost anyone, because it is a pretty likable sound. So do it.