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"Post-rock"


blind-fitter

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Although I've just returned from a long sabbatical from site, I can't find any threads (so far) on 'Post-Rock'. Anyone hear into this great genre?

If unsure what bands are considered post-rock, here's a small list of ones that seem more popular (although doesn't mean they are any better) -

Explosions in the Sky

Godspeed You! Black Emperor

Tracer AMC

Russian Circles

This Will Destroy You

65daysofstatic

Do Make Say Think

Maserati

I've only heard the first two from your list. I like Godspeed You Black Emperor.

I would strongly recommend Slint, whose classic album "Spiderland" is only now being acknowledged as the other "most influential rock album of 1991".

I also really like what I've heard of Low, whose album "The Great Destroyer" is one of the more mainstream/accessible examples of the post-rock genre.

Shellac (featuring thelegendarySteveAlbini); do they count as post-rock? I'm never quite sure how the genre is defined. They seem to possess some of the features at least; quiet/loud dynamics, unusual structures/time signatures, etc. Anyways, I like to listen to Shellac from time to time.

I also have time for Sigur Ros, who were totally compelling when I saw them live in Leeds City Varieties theatre a few years ago.

I would welcome further discussion/advice on "post-rock", especially recommendations. I like what I've read and the little I've heard of Mogwai, for example, but don't know the best starting point and I'm loathe to shell out alot of dosh for the wrong album.

I've only dipped my toes in the water of post-rock so far, but I would like to immerse myself a bit further. About knee-deep would do.

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I like post rock a lot. But it's really creative and innovative and progressive so this is probably the wrong forum to discuss it in :P

Absolutely. Nobody here seems to like music that isn't boring. :P

I haven't really gotten into modern post-rock yet. I'm sticking with my Yes, King Crimson, Genesis, Pink Floyd and Jethro Tull for the moment. :)

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Thanks for the recommendations. I can't watch them right now, but I'll try to remember later. :)

Pretty much the only post-rock bands I have heard much of are Radiohead and Muse. I like Radiohead, though I've only heard about 10 of their singles and no album tracks. I think Muse are okay, but mostly their guitar playing in their songs I've heard is quite simple and boring, which is pretty much the same criticism I use for all modern rock bands I don't like very much.

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I'm sticking with my Yes, King Crimson, Genesis, Pink Floyd and Jethro Tull for the moment. :)

Expand that to include ELP, Rush, and maybe some Gentle Giant. I think you would like those bands. I like all the bands you mentioned above and I like these ones too.

On the subject of Yes, just out of curiousity, which of their albums do you have?

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As with many musical genres, the term is arguably inadequate as a concise descriptor: for example, Don Caballero and Mogwai were among the more prominent bands of the 1990s described as post rock, but the two bands' music has very little in common besides the fact that they are both largely instrumental. As such, the term has been the subject of backlash from listeners and artists alike.

ah yes... :stars: ;)

so, as I understood it, Post-Rock is music that uses Rock instruments, but doesn't sound like the ('normal') Rock? did I get that right?

now, I took a look at the List of bands and I'm afraid there are VERY few bands I recognised, even with the German bands :crazy:

one notable exception is "Couch", an - as I would have called it - Instrumental Rock band from Munich, that I'm quite fond of :)

so I would greatly appreciate it if someone could show me the ropes and give some examples of Post-Rock songs and/or bands :)

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It appears I've been getting my post-rock mixed up with my Math Rock

...though this article does suggest there is some "common ground" between the genres...

A closely-related genre is post-rock, into which some of these same bands are classified; post-rock, though, tends to be defined by a softer-edged, more jazzy and melodic sound.

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so I would greatly appreciate it if someone could show me the ropes and give some examples of Post-Rock songs and/or bands :)

There are 2, 3, maybe 100 schools of thought regarding the use of the genre 'post-rock'. Some like the term (I do) while others may claim it's like what happened in the 90s when many bands were labelled 'alternative'. Personally, whatever floats your boat but that is more of a feeble attempt at describing the bigger picture.

Like 'rock' in general, there is probably thousands of sub-genres. 'Post-rock' can be attributed to these descriptions, although totally subjective -

- music outside of the norm (mainstream).

- cli-rock, or climatic-rock (that's my own created sub-genre. Great examples are GY!BE & EITS where the song gradually builds into a big climax, and then usually returns to calm. In some tunes, it can happen several times.

- math-rock, for which I do consider a form of post-rock. Math-rock is normally associated with shifts during the song (tempo, key, time signature, etc.).

- it's not necessarily all instrumental.

- many tunes are 'atmospheric' that can literally take you away to either a less-stressful and peaceful feeling; a euphoric state, etc.

- many bands are not that keen with being labelled 'post-rock' so many just say, 'Indie', 'Hard Rock', etc.

- some sludge, stoner-rock and even metal can be associated with post-rock

- it's worldwide. Not only bands from US and Canada but also Japan, UK, Sweden, Finland, etc.

I know that didn't help any so I think it's best if I mention some myspace links to listen. I may mention to listen for a specific tune. Although many post-rock tunes can be lengthy (some can take over 5 minutes or more just to hear a change), I'll try not to use those ones for examples unless otherwise noted.

Explosions in the Sky - listen to "A Poor Man's Memory" - this one takes a bit, and then it happens around the 4:48 mark.

Vanessa Van Basten - from Italy. They label themselves as 'heavy postrock'.

Windmills by the Ocean

- this is a side project from a couple of members from 'Isis' and 'Red Sparowes'.

Miaou - from Japan. Their one album, "Happiness" right now is my favourite post-rock album.

Mono - probably the most famous post-rock band from Japan.

Parhelia - From Ireland. "A Second Changes Everything" is a good tune.

Scraps of Tape - from Sweden.

I'm a fan of Math-rock so here's a couple of examples -

By the End of Tonight - love these guys. Yes, the drums sound like a kiddie set. Anyway, listen to "Setting Sail in April." I just noticed on the site, "WE NEED A NEW DRUMMER." That's unfortunate for just like the band 'Don Caballero', percussion is really up front and center. And speaking of Don Caballero...

Don Caballero

I'll add more examples if anyone is still interested.

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thank you for your post :bow: :bow:

after listening to every link of yours I think it's safe to say that I'm definitly a fan of Post Rock :rockon: same (maybe even more, I haven't decided yet) with Math Rock :rockon:

out of the ones you listed I only didn't really like Vanessa Van Basten (the 'heavy' sound sort of clashes with the style... contrary to the others this felt weird to me) and Mono (their songs sounded like a soundtrack for a movie, with the orchestra and such...) I think I'm more a fan of the minimalistic sound :)

Favourites so far are Explosions in the Sky and Windmills by the Ocean :thumbsup:

now you can check out Couch especially the track Alle auf Pause :)

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Excellent, excellent stuff, berjo. Thankyou from the heart of my bottom.

I wasn't too keen on the two Japanese (Miaou and Mono), but the rest all had interesting stuff going on. Of the post-rock, I particularly enjoyed Vanessa Van Basten and Scraps of Tape; then, to a slightly lesser extent, Windmills By The Ocean and Parhelia.

Really enjoyed the Math-Rock stuff. By The End Of Tonight :thumbsup: :bow: Don Caballero :thumbsup: :bow:

I'd certainly welcome more recommendations, if they can reach these standards.

Can you recommend any good post-rock "samplers"? (ie. compilation albums)

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Sorry to continue the prog hijacking ( :grin: ), but I do like ELP and Rush, although I haven't heard that many of their songs. I was already planning to check out Gentle Giant sometime soon too.

The only Yes "album" I have is Yessongs, which I think is an excellent collection of their best early work, and shows what a great live band they were.

Batman, I'd have to say Animal Collective are too weird for my tastes. Which is surprising, since I generally like weird and creative stuff. :crazy:

Hold that thought on GY!BE though - I think I might just like them. I've been listening to samples on last.fm. :)

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Excellent, excellent stuff, berjo. Thankyou from the heart of my bottom.

I wasn't too keen on the two Japanese (Miaou and Mono), but the rest all had interesting stuff going on. Of the post-rock, I particularly enjoyed Vanessa Van Basten and Scraps of Tape; then, to a slightly lesser extent, Windmills By The Ocean and Parhelia.

Really enjoyed the Math-Rock stuff. By The End Of Tonight :thumbsup: :bow: Don Caballero :thumbsup: :bow:

I'd certainly welcome more recommendations, if they can reach these standards.

Can you recommend any good post-rock "samplers"? (ie. compilation albums)

Hi,

Thank you, although they were only minuscule samples of the vastness of what is actually available (I'm sure you already knew). There is so much post-rock that many fans have been quite critical over the last couple of years. I do agree that much of post-rock follows one of the genre's standards (slowly builds up - sudden loudness ala climax - slowly backs down - repeat, etc.) but it's like saying there hasn't been any good rock music since "The Beatles." I mean, there is tons of music still released today that follow the formulaic '3' chords (i,iv,v - of the major scale), sometimes with the second step (ii) thrown in for good measure. In other words, I still enjoy the current releases of post-rock, although some bands tend to sound like another.

I'm glad you like math-rock. Remember, just like rock, it also has it's extreme bands.

Faraquet - a great math-rock band from Washington D.C. There is even vocals of some tunes. I own their only album 'The View From This Tower' released back in 2000 and here is part of a review I wrote (at another site) -

I wouldn’t consider this band a hardcore math-rock for there’s plenty of moments of subtle and pop-ish melodies. It’s not loud, nor in your face. The flow may be somewhat incoherent to the genre, but that in itself would make the band less attractive to the norm.

If you’re entering the world of Math-Rock with vocals, then look no further than Faraquet.

Again, unfortunate that they only released that one album.

Here is their myspace link - All good samples.

The first one listed, "Cut Self Not" is the lead-off track from the album and this is what I said in my review... This band no mistakenly, keeps that vicissitude flow within each song structure. The first track instantly recalls ‘Yes’, like a tune for the running on ‘Fragile’.

Also give a listen to "Study in Complacency." Here is also what I had to say about that tune - ... for track 6 (“Study in Complacencyâ€), although full of a few twists and turns (and quite a banjo roll part way through and repeated again later that would give Earl Scruggs a run for the money), but a similar melody akin to ‘The Police'. Maybe the tune itself is a bit fallacious for the voice is quite similar to Sting. Besides being sidetracked, it’s a tune that should be heard.

Anyway, hope you enjoy.

- - - - - - - - - -

I see you're not overly crazy for Miaou and Mono. It would also be safe to say to add EITS (Explosions in the Sky) and GY!BE (Godspeed You! Black Emperor) to your list.

Viaje a 800 (myspace) - these guys are from Spain. Many prefer their genre to stoner-rcok but there is elements of post-metal as well.

Audrey (myspace) - from Sweden. Post-rock and indie-rock (they just use 'indie' on their myspace).

Just so you know, I can go on and on and on... just tell me when to stop!

It would be kind of cool if we talked about one band or two at once and then carry on to another example.

Anyway, regarding your 'sampler' request. Of all the music I own, I've never come across one. However, I can lead you to some albums but I think this site doesn't want us posting 'links' (if you catch my drift). Actually, I would just be the third-party leading you to a file that I or no-one here uploaded so I can't see the harm in it. Besides, the 'url' would be hidden inside the link.

Well, I hope you enjoy this once again and let me know. :)

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