I feel so grateful for having gotten into post-rock well after its first two waves. Don't get me wrong, there are still great bands from that era, of course. But, by and large, I tend to connect with and drift towards the louder side of the "quiet/loud" dichotomy that powers most of post-rock (and metal). Therefore, I am grateful to have been around for the explosion of electronic, punchy post-rock in the late 00's, which continued up until a few years ago and still have some great releases in its wake. This isn't one of those releases. Instead, Kaschalot's Anemoia is, even more so than the previous releases from the band, a child of the sort of post-rock that grew alongside that wave and took from 65daysofstatic and its ilk the explosions (get it) without the electronics.
The result is a hyper-energetic form of post-rock that, just like me, leans towards the louder side of the post-rock dichotomy. Where on previous releases (and especially on the brilliant EP, Zenith) Kaschalot's bursts of energy usually came at the end of tracks or were more reserved, here the forward momentum is front and center. "Flourish", the album's opener, is possibly one of the best opening tracks I've ever heard. It immediately springs into action, wasting no time unleashing on us the groovy riff at its core. There are calmer segments in the middle of the track, naturally, which create the reserved flipside of the post-rock formula. But here, they are fleeting and where they would otherwise extend into a long, more ambient section, the riff returns but slower, eschewing the "calmer" vibes for more reserved, powerful ones.
Many of the other tracks on the album share that more reserved stance but they never collapse into crescendos or the long, drawn out sections of build up that accompany them. Instead, even when the tracks are less explosive, they are always agile and deft, like the mesmerizing "Vanishing Points". Here, there is less immediate, off-the-handle force like on "Flourish" but there is plenty of momentum-infused intricacy. The bass and drums do exceptionally good work, seemingly flying off of their instruments to create a technical track made up of many notes but somehow feeling light. Thus, where "Vanishing Points" retreats it advances elsewhere, maintaining the constants feeling of forward movement in a different way, through complexity and volume.
Put all of this together alongside a tight, thirty seven minute runtime, and you have yourself an absolute delight of an album. If "classic" post-rock can be likened to the ponderous flight of some massive bird across the sky, gorgeous in its own, majestic way, then Anemoia is like a smaller, resplendent bird. It flits from here to here, its colors glimpsed in sharp, energetic bursts, its song seemingly coming from everywhere as it slices the air with its rapid movements. It's Spring! Post-rock can be, and is, far more intricate, dexterous, and resplendent than people give it credit for. Rejoice in Anemoia's scintillating, light-headed textures; you will not regret it.
Anemoia was released on April 8th and you can get it right from that Bandcamp link up there. Also, birds are free and you can go outside and look at them and they're gorgeous.