Hey! You know, I'm not sure what image the people who read the blog have of me. I mean, I know some of it, for sure, because I talk to a lot of people who read the blog and they tell me things about myself. What I actually mean is, and it's sort of hard to acknowledge publicly, is that I often have moments where I think of shutting down the blog. It's really not easy to keep this going, what with, y'know, everything. It would be nice to rest for a bit and maybe go back to listening to music like I used to, when it came.
But then I think about Post Rock Post. Seriously, it's the column I think about the most in those times of crisis. First, it's the longest running column (that's right!). Secondly, it must be some connection between introspection, faint despair, and the style of music at hand; post-rock is just good for that kind of rumination. But lastly, I feel like Post Rock Post captures the essence of why I keep the blog running or, rather, the essence of why I keep writing, which is (to be honest) most of what I do for the blog today. I just love the insistence on a style of music that certainly had its day in the sun but is no longer really seen as on the cutting edge of things, the determination that there is a lot here worth dedicating passion towards.
And, most importantly, the fact that this dedication is returned ten-fold. I have never encountered a musical community so loving and grateful as post-rock and, for that reason alone but also for many others, I really don't see myself giving up not only the stage to write about it but also to have that writing read by others who love the style just as much as I do.
So! Here it is. The best of 2024, in post-rock (and metal and ambience and shoegaze and grunge)! It was a wild year, in a quiet way; not a lot of bombastic albums that everybody listening but many, many great releases. Enjoy!
-Eden Kupermintz

Múr - Múr
As much as I try to, it seems I can’t get away from post-metal. It feels to me like every year I write at least one post about how my interest in the genre has faded only for some album to pull me back into it. This year, it’s Múr’s lush, self-titled album, a masterclass in the velvety texture that keeps me coming back to this style. This one really is an album to turn off the light for and sink into.
-EK
Overhead, The Albatross - I Leave You This
To me, I Leave You This is the post-rock album of the year. It contains so much - the melancholy melodies the band became famous for (at least in our little slice of the Internet) but also so many new influences, bursting off the tracks. Agile EDM, staccato drums, powerful spoken pieces, ambient, and a lot more all compete for space on this album. Usually I’d say the band are good at balancing these things out but here, I feel as if that tottering feeling of abundance is the point.
-EK
Flourish - Deepest Wellsprings of Being
Drawing from 90s shoegaze and grunge with scattered vocals throughout that align with those influences, Deepest Wellsprings of Being is a highly textural album that beckons equally from nostalgia as it does from simple imagery that’s reflected in its titles and artwork. As much as “Waves of Nazare” accomplishes the washing-over-you effect of gazey-post music, “Steel Tracks Move the Trains” has moments that evoke an engine gradually powering-up before getting into a full-speed driving assault. The percussion really deserves a shoutout as a highlight here, adapting to fit pensive ambience to explosions of blastbeats. This is truly one of those “take you on a journey” type of post-metal albums, and the eclectic influences from This Will Destroy You to the blackgaze of Deafheaven deliver unexpected curves all along the way to keep you engaged.
-Trent Bos
Pijn - From Low Beams of Hope
This was the other post-metal album that grabbed me this year (though admittedly it deserves an “ish” at the end of the genre tag there). Pijn have always been experts at creating and releasing tension and this even darker, more melancholic iteration of their sound showcases this just as well, if not better. From Low Beams of Hope is a powerful release, one that grabbed me by the throat for a few months and rarely let go. If you’re looking for your post-rock to feel immediate, look no further.
-EK
Godspeed You! Black Emperor - "No Title as of 13 February 2024 28,340 Dead"
Thirty years since their debut, Godspeed You! Black Emperor continues to be one of the most influential and acclaimed names in the genre. Perhaps most impressive is they’ve managed to do so while barely evolving their sound. Don’t fix what isn’t broken I guess. No, I think Godspeed would long attest that there are things of much more importance in the world that are in fact broken. “No Title as of 13 February 2024 28,340 Dead” refers to the number of Palestinian deaths as a result of the Israel-Hamas conflict as of the date mentioned. Like their previous works, they continue their wordless rebellion through heart wrenching politically-charged apocalyptic soundscapes that act as a soundtrack to the state of the world. If you’ve heard a Godspeed album you’ll know what to generally expect here. While the effectiveness of their sound and message has trailed off over the last decade and this doesn’t quite hit the same as their early classics, No Title is still a triumphant rebound, and their best album since 2012’s 'Allelujah! Don't Bend! Ascend!
-TB
Delving - All Paths Diverge
Delving essentially answers the question of “what if Elder wrote a post-rock album?” This solo-project endeavor from the heavy psych/stoner metal group’s frontman and guitarist is a psychedelic trip into colorful kaleidoscopes of sound. All Paths Diverge, the second release under this moniker, matches much of the creativity of Elder, but with the more “stoner”-oriented riffing replaced by krautrock and space rock influences, carried by rhythmic retro synth tones. It’s a little bit meandering and “jammy”, but in very post-rock fashion often finds itself returning to a touchstone progression and builds and layers on top of that giving it a flowing sense of direction. Whether as background music or an accompaniment to an altered state, All Paths Diverge will augment any set and setting.
-TB
And So I Watch You From Afar - Megafauna
It fills me with so much joy to be able to wholeheartedly love an And So I Watch You From Afar. Don’t get me wrong, I absolutely adore Jettison but it really feels like a different beast, not in-line with the band’s sound (for better and for worse). But Megafauna feels more tethered to the rest of the band’s history and does it much better than its last few iterations; the album feels more necessary, perhaps driven by the fever of isolation and distance. Regardless, it is a release that reminds us why and how these guys founded an entire sound and goes back to the funky, powerful roots of those early days.
-EK
Oh Hiroshima - All Things Shining
Out of the several albums released this year (and which are on this list as well) that channeled the blend of grunge, post-rock, and alt-rock, All Things Shining is the one I liked best. It has gorgeous lyrics on it, capturing the kind of introspection, disdain, love, warmth, and cold that lies at the heart of many of these unique releases. I found myself speared to the core by it, coming back again and again to its unique aesthetic, thematic, and musical spaces.
-EK
Locrian - End Terrain
Despite existing for two decades now, Locrian had largely been a blind spot for me up until End Terrain, their (collaborations included) fourteenth full-length. If you fall in the same boat, it might not be a big surprise as this is largely to be considered their first real “post-metal” album, a departure from the mostly drone and ambient noise approach of their early works. Kicked off by the standout “Chronoscapes”, synthesizer melodies dance over distorted walls of sound and a range of harsh vocals from dreamy cleans to screamo wails and gutturals. It’s not too unlike the cybergrind meets prog-post-metal of Genghis Tron’s comeback album, but a little texturally rougher and more extreme around the edges with a penchant for shoegazing reverb.
-TB
Toe - Now I See The Light
While this doesn’t quite touch the magic of their first two releases, any Toe is welcome Toe. The japanese post-math quartet’s latest exhibits much of the playful technicality and warm tones they’re known for over mellow and contemplative song-writing. They take complexity and uncommon time-signatures and turn it relaxing and peaceful. Takashi Kashikura remains one of the best drummers in the genre, but it’s hard not to long for a bit more of the overall daring experimentation and hypnotic nature of their early works, knowing what’s possible.
-TB