2020 already promises to be another fantastic year for post-rock and, more specifically, for the type of groovy post-rock which I adore so much. Of course, no such strong year would be complete without solid contributions from Australia, one of the hubs of this kind of energetic music. Enter Solkyri as one of the first. Hailing from Sydney, these guys play the kind of “muscular” post-rock that finds compatriots in bands like Town Portal, sleepmakeswaves or VASA. On Mount Pleasant, releasing this Friday on the excellent Bird’s Robe Records, the band merge this style of music with lots of fun, spunk, and complex patterns. We’re proud to premiere it today in full, ahead of its release. Head on down below for your first taste!
What I like the most about Solkyri is just the unbelievable exuberance which their music radiates. You don’t need to look much further than opening track “Holding Pattern” to find it; the drums hit hard and hit often, running circles around the main tempo of the track. The guitars are chirpy in their tone and many-noted, pouring good vibes and distortion in plentiful portions. The bass is like the bigger, more responsible brother, shouldering its load and given the whole thing a firmness. Of course, the middle of the track also features some scintillating and atmospheric effect, calling to mind that sleepmakeswaves comparison from before. The happy-go-lucky vibe of the track so far is contrasted here with a kind of nostalgic melancholy that is a delighted to taste after (and before, as the track explodes into its outro) the more up-beat vibes of the rest of the track.
If you think these guys are going to slow down after this, you’re in for a surprise; second track “Potemkin” will dissuade you of that assumption fast, with its robust and breakneck bass. From there, the album just keeps going hard, ducking and weaving between all of these ideas and tones like it was nothing much, without even breaking a sweat. The end result is Mount Pleasant, a heavy hitter of an album that will leave even the most well-versed adherents of the genre scratching their heads and wondering “wait, what?” Do yourself a favor and pick this bad boy up via the band’s Bandcamp above; it’s a ride you won’t regret.