Editors’ Picks – July 2018

Heavy Blog
Editors' Picks
Every year, it seems like Summer is more impossible. Are we growing old? Is it actually hotter? Is it both? Who knows (it’s probably the former). But the sad fact remains that patterns of routine that have helped us cope in the past, a cold glass of water here, a welcome shady corner there, are becoming more and more diminished, the returns just less effective at getting us home. It’s truly a death by a thousand cuts or, rather, death by a thousand drops (of sweat).

Talons – We All Know

Eden Kupermintz
News
For those willing to rummage through the fecund fields of modern post-rock, there's plenty to appreciate in this new life, springing to action for a decade now. A good example is Talons, whose experimental take on the genre and unique timbre makes a resplendent return and rebirth on their latest album, We All Know. The first half of the album is a more condensed version of that sound, leaning heavily on noise rock and other, chunkier genres for its punch and impact. Thus, tracks like "On Levels" and "Movements on Seven", channel a more urgent, industrial sound that reminds us at times of Stateless by way of early Long Distance Calling, a kind of urgent post-rock that's more abrasive and compact for that urgency, even when it builds up and releases slowly.

Post Rock Post // June 2018

Nick Cusworth
Lists!, Post Rock Post
Hello, I have returned! All the thanks to my brother from across the world, Eden, for taking ownership of this place for the past couple of months while I experienced multiple large life events (honeymoon, moving to a new state/metro area, getting a new job). I am back though to deliver you all the best in all things post-rock and metal. And I am doing so at an excellent time because I come bearing an awesome announcement!

What Heavy Blog Is Really Listening To – 9/23/16

Heavy Blog
What We're Really Listening To
For those who missed our last installment, We post biweekly updates covering what the staff at Heavy Blog have been spinning. Given the amount of time we spend on the site telling you about music that does not fall neatly into the confines of conventional “metal,” it should come as no surprise that many of us on staff have pretty eclectic tastes that range far outside of metal and heavy things. We can’t post about all of them at length here, but we can at least let you know what we’re actually listening to. For those that would like to participate as well (and please do) can drop a 3X3 in the comments, which can be made with tapmusic.net through your last.fm account, or create it manually with topsters.net. Also, consider these posts open threads to talk about pretty much anything music-related. We love hearing all of your thoughts on this stuff and love being able to nerd out along with all of you.

What Heavy Blog Is Really Listening To – 8/26/16

Scott Murphy
What We're Really Listening To
For those who missed our last installment, We post biweekly updates covering what the staff at Heavy Blog have been spinning. Given the amount of time we spend on the site telling you about music that does not fall neatly into the confines of conventional “metal,” it should come as no surprise that many of us on staff have pretty eclectic tastes that range far outside of metal and heavy things. We can’t post about all of them at length here, but we can at least let you know what we’re actually listening to. For those that would like to participate as well (and please do) can drop a 3X3 in the comments, which can be made with tapmusic.net through your last.fm account, or create it manually with topsters.net. Also, consider these posts open threads to talk about pretty much anything music-related. We love hearing all of your thoughts on this stuff and love being able to nerd out along with all of you.

Post Rock Post – Talons’ New Topographics

Eden Kupermintz
Post Rock Post
One day soon, I'll write a post analyzing Big Scary Monsters in depth. They're a fantastic label, with bands running the gamut from post rock to emo and indie. A few weeks ago, they held a sale in which, for one weekend, all their stuff on Bandcamp was Name Your Price. I used the opportunity to follow up on some recommendations I had heard on Talons, a British band I should have checked out much, much earlier. Pegging these guys as post rock might something of a simplistic approach; New Topographics is an intricate, often abrasive but mostly beautiful album which upends the relationship between noise and silence within the post rock genre. It's more similar to the old school approaches to post rock of the mid 2000's, where bands like 65daysofstatic and Red Sparrowes were still shying away from delay-ridden guitars and focusing on heavy hitting, big post rock.