I’m sitting here waiting for them to unveil new images from The James Webb Space Telescope, new images into our universe. Sure, you can be a cynic about it and point out how James Webb was an asshole (Google it), how the person doing the unveiling is motherfucking Joe Biden, how the country that’s funding such a huge and expensive project can’t seem to find clean water for its own citizens, not to mention houses, healthcare, and other basic rights of life. But, despite all of those true, horrible, and important to consider facts, we are also looking deeper into the universe we are surrounded with, with the hopes of better understanding it. What more could you ask for in an intro to a column about post-rock? What best exemplifies the wonder, tinged with the melancholy of the real, that post-rock is so well known for? There’s a reason so many of the seminal, founding bands of the post-rock genre had space metaphors in their name; there’s nothing quite as sad and amazing as space.
And that’s a really cool thing to think about while thinking about post-rock: how strongly the genre is associated with its imagery. Maybe its because of the (usual) lack of vocals; something about the instrumental language of post-rock seeps deeper into the visual centers in our brain and takes root there. Or maybe there’s a simpler explanation: those drawn to the musical expanses of the genre were already also drawn to the expanses of space (and of other worlds and of the internal world). Or perhaps this is all in my head and most of you reading this won’t understand or relate to my association of post-rock with the exploration of space. But I don’t think so.
Whichever it is that’s true, I am thankful, as ever, for this little piece of the internet which often feels the most like home. Even in months where Nick is absent (for fantastic reasons involving the greatest wonder of all, a new life) and even Trent is on vacation, Post Rock Post is a bastion for me against the hardships of the world. I come to it to discover, and write about, some of my favorite music. I come to as a shrine, a place to ward off cynicism while not completely turning from the world. A place to remember, alongside this fantastic style of music, that the world is beautiful, complicated, awful, and amazing. And that there’s so much left for us to discover, out there.
–Eden Kupermintz
You, You’re Awesome (Top Picks)
JOI – Mk 1 (post-metal, post-rock)
I am very fortunate to have a group of writers working with me that send me messages like “Here’s one for your more drums and bass please needs, Eden”. That’s exactly the message under which David sent me JOI’s little EP and boy, was he right. If you’re not aware of why he knew to send me this, I have been a very strong advocate of turning the bass up on post-rock and post-metal ever since I dove into bands like Telepathy, Wess Meets West and Man Mountain, to name just a few. And, indeed, France’s JOI deserve most comparison to the first name on that list; the band operate along the same axis of groove, punch, and musical agility that first drew us to one of the blog’s favorite post-metal bands.
Mk 1 is chock full of energetic and bottomless riffs that focus on agility and impact for their effectiveness. Check out album opener “Edges”, for example; not only is it main riff pure muscle, it also has that darker tone to the drums and, especially, the bass which lends it that same haunting, pronounced sound that lies at the core of so many of the examples we mentioned above but mostly Telepathy. JOI are also not shy with slowing things down, introducing that expansiveness and hypnotizing bit of post-rock ambience at the middle of the track. This creates a sort of blissful eye of the storm in the center of “Edges”’s percussive whirlwind, giving the listener time to reflect and enough contrast to contextualize the rest of the track.
Elsewhere, like “Kemet” which follows the first track, samples are used to create the same contrast. On “Kemet” this is the famous speech from Network, perfectly setting up the track’s furious outro with the rage inherent in that piece of audio. In other places the ambience returns in different forms but serves the same purpose: to set up the uncontainable strength and thrust of JOI’s mighty groove section. If you’re looking for an EP that will set your heart racing and your legs a-dancing, then look no further Mk 1; it’s like a kick in the fuel tank, sending you careening down the path of your life.
–EK
Enjoy Eternal Bliss (Best of the Rest)
DAVID’S LIGHTNING ROUND
There were a lot of very strong releases this month, so in the interest of covering as many as possible without turning this into a 20,000 word document I’m going to try to keep it brief and cover them rapid-fire style.
The Introvert – Carry The Bomb, Carry The Power
The primary reason this album is showing up here is because it’s the brainchild of This Will Destroy You’s Jeremy Galindo. The reality is that it’s very much its own thing, and covers so much ground it almost defies categorization. There are elements of shoegaze, sad dance, synthwave, trip-hop, electronic, post-rock, and more spread over the eight tracks. I would point to to climactic moments of “Deadman Watching For Me” and “Maybe” as indicators of why this artists has spent a decade and a half as one of the preeminent names in experimental music: even within the context of this unique and unconventional album, Galindo has managed to create two of the most memorable vocal melodies of the year so far. And this is someone who’s spent his entire career to this point creating wordless music, so I’m very interested to see how this phase of his progresses.
–David Zeidler
still motions – synthesis
The sophomore album from this Phoenix band expands upon the promise shown on their debut. They’ve clearly made an impression, as this marks their leap from entirely independent to partnering with a label (POST. RECORDINGS, who also co-released The Introvert). They’re self-described as “ambient post-rock,” but the draw here really is the effectiveness with which they balance the quieter moments with loud ones. There’s a lot of energy on this record, which is a textbook example of how to do the “traditional American post-rock” thing in 2022 without being boring about it.
–DZ
Hereafter – This Life Is A Beautiful War
This is the third album in as many years from multi-instrumentalist Rob Evraets, Jr., whose 2021 album In The End, We’ll All Become Stories contributed greatly to me rethinking my general position on solo artist post-rock. This has a very full-band feel to it, and like the still motions record it’s got energy to spare. There’s even something of a post-hardcore vibe in spots, with harder-edged moments that remind me of listening to bands like Sparta and Thursday back in my college days. It’s a thoroughly invigorating album that circumnavigates all of the pitfalls of modern post-rock and presents listeners with twelve tracks (basically two albums worth of material for most bands of the genre!) that consistently proves a joy to listen to.
–DZ
Gozerian – Gozerian EP
A really interesting, experimental offering from this Worcester, MA duo, it pairs electronic textures with muscular live drums, resulting in something that I don’t quite know how to describe in genre terms. It’s got a lot of synth, but it ain’t synthwave. It’s certainly post-rock in that it subverts traditional rock stylings, but it’s not post-rock. It’s not guitar-heavy enough to be post-hardcore, but it shares a similar aggression. I don’t know what to call it, but I’d recommend you listen to it.
–DZ
Dharma Station – The Lost Waves
This Italian drum and bass duo have something of a goofy premise, describing their pairing as an event that resulted in the dawn of a new genre called “fish rock.” But I’ll be goddamned if I didn’t hit play on this one and immediately get what they were saying. I don’t know what to say, the guys promised sounds that come from the sea, and that’s pretty much what they delivered. Imagine if that signature Tool bass sound was isolated and turned into the focus of the songwriting, and Dharma Station is where that idea might end up.
–DZ
A Concrete Future – Remnants Of A Time To Come
Okay, okay, I know. The album art and the band logo maybe aren’t convincing indicators that you listen to this, but if you’re looking for a proggy post-metal/post-rock hybrid with some nasty riffs and joyously excessive guitar solos, look no further than this German quartet.
–DZ
A Ghost In Rags – Akarano
This is another German post-metal group, but on a totally different part of a spectrum than A Concrete Future. Post-metal, black metal, doom, sludge, and post-rock collide in epic fashion here, resulting in 45 minutes of intense but also occasionally beautiful music spread over four tracks that never spends too much time doing one thing to wear out its welcome. It obviously takes its time, but it’s consistently compelling stuff.
–DZ
Sparkle – Yggdrasil (درخت جهان)
Another recommendation from David, this Iranian based artist makes music that is best described as psychedelic and expansive. Straddling the line between post-rock, psychedelic rock, and ambient, Yggdrasil (درخت جهان) is an album to get lost in. It paints otherworldly visions with synths, guitars, drums, and bass, always dedicated to recurring themes that ground the listener on their journey. The joy becomes tracking down those themes and enjoying their different manifestations, always surprising but somehow familiar, radiating a pleasing and heady feeling of home.
-EK
DAVID’S TOP 10 POST ROCK RELEASES OF 2022 SO FAR (NO PARTICULAR ORDER)
RLYR – RLYR
Hereafter – This Life Is A Beautiful War
A Ghost In Rags – Akarano
Grivo – Omit
deathcrash – Return
Mountaineer – Giving Up The Ghost
Adolf Plays The Jazz – Low Life. | We Can’t Lose. We Have Already Lost
Towers of Jupiter – III
Astodan – Evora
Wilt, Oceans – Wilt
EDEN’S TOP 10 POST ADJACENT ALBUMS OF 2022 SO FAR (ORDER COMPLETELY OPTIONAL)
Towers of Jupiter – III
Soldat Hans – Anthaupt
OK WAIT – Well
Answer From Cygnus – Cygnus
And So I Watch You From Afar – Jettison
An Evening Redness – An Evening Redness
Toundra – Hex
Old Solar – Quiet Prayers (redux)
Mountaineer – Giving Up The Ghost
FES – With Regards From Home
TRENT’s TOP 10 POST-WHATEVER ALBUMS OF 2022 SO FAR (ORDER? WHAT ORDER?)
Mountaineer – Giving Up The Ghost
And So I Watch You From Afar – Jettison
OK WAIT – Well
Chalk Hands – Don’t Think About Death
Deathcrash – Return
Caroline – Caroline
SOM – The Shape of Everything
Ode and Elegy – Ode and Elegy
Toundra – Hex
Cult of Luna – The Long Road North
The Endless Shimmering (Other Notable Releases)
Oblivitone – Sonic Erosion (post-metal, drone, wall-of-sound)
Alas – Uusi Vuosi screamogaze, (dream/noise-pop, post-rock)
Derelict Vessel – Great Field Of Debris (post-metal, space rock, post-rock with vocals)
OddsFiche – Holiday Snaps (post-rock, acid rock, psychadelic, noise rock)
ROWS – 9! (post-rock w/ vocals, experimental)
Matador – The Surge (Live At Rain City Recorders) (post-metal, post-rock, doom)
Wraki – regret everything (instrumental, post-punk, upbeat post-rock)
ndw – Warmth From A Fading Light (post-rock, ambient)
Effigy – oneironaut (noise rock, experimental, post-rock, drum and bass)
In The Waking World – Lost At Sea (post-rock, instrumental, crescendocore)
Inertial – troika/silhouettes (post-rock, post-metal, atmospheric, shoegaze)
man is five – AEONS (instrumental, post-metal, post-rock)