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Post Rock Post – A.M. feelgood’s Wisteria Trail

Austin, Texas! I’ve never been but it already feels like a second home to me. Besides being in a musical project based there, I’ve covered the amazing post

8 years ago

Austin, Texas! I’ve never been but it already feels like a second home to me. Besides being in a musical project based there, I’ve covered the amazing post rock scene that’s been growing over there extensively in the recent few months. It is my absolute pleasure to add to this ever-increasing roster a band called A.M. feelgood. As whimsical as their name, these guys produce the kind of post rock which sends you dreaming of star-filled nights, endless roads stretching into the sable cloak of late hour skies and the desert humming around you as you walk the asphalt.

Incorporating plenty of groove into this dreamy melange via a substantial groove section, A.M. feelgood add a heavy and metallic edge to these musings. Second track “Bearilla Warfare” is a prime example of these balances. Ushered in by intricate and accurate drum work, listen as the main lead lulls you into the state of daydreaming that post rock so often relies. Then, caught in your reverie, the main chord progression is introduced, guitars laden with distortion laced at the very edges of their wave-forms, adding a subtle frill to their sound as they fade away. Near the middle of the track a second, and final, movement begins, looping back to the more somber beginnings.

During this movement, the drums are once again highlighted. Honestly, I could write a whole just on the drums on this album. The playing style seems to be, somehow, both light and heavy at the same time. Sticks bounce off cymbals and the hi-hat right in the middle of the rolls, those rolls themselves convoluted and transform in an instant, and when a more direct approach is required, a solid beat is maintained utmost restraint.  Thus, the drums introduce plenty of math rock into the mix, playing on tones and moments within the guitar and bass compositions to highlight playfullness, verve and the hope which makes math rock possible.To say that the kit makes this album would be to undermine the expert and delicate role which it plays here; instead of standing out, it waves within, uplifting the rest of this delightful album into true, memorable status.

To sum it, you should listen to A.M. feelgood if you’re looking for that next road-trip album, something to sing to your legs and get them in motion across a continent (which one specifically is entirely up to you). It’s dreamy post rock but the kind that relies on tight songwriting and rhythm to create its effect rather than stretched out, tiresome melodies that end up going nowhere. Its math rock inclinations make it that much more groovy, fascinatingly ducking and weaving as you watch it grow. It has direction, it has style and it will fully entice you. One day, I will listen to it while drinking beer on a sunny porch in Austin, Texas. Until then, I will just hit repeat on Wisteria Trail.

And I haven’t even told you about the best track, which is the last one. See you there.

Eden Kupermintz

Published 8 years ago