Category: post rock

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

With the release of 2014’s full-length debut, Dogging, the Sydney-based punk act Low Life featuring core trio Mitch Tolman, Cristian O’Sullivan and Greg Alfaro quickly received national and international attention — while leaving a nasty mark on the punk landscape. Interestingly, the band’s much-anticipated sophomore effort Downer Edn (read as Downer Edition) is slated for a March 15, 2019 release through Goner Records.

Recorded over a two year period, the acclaimed Aussie punk band’s forthcoming sophomore effort finds the band expanding from a trio to a quintet with the addition of Oily Boys and Orion’s Dizzy Daldal (guitar) and Yuta Matsumura (guitar), with Matsumura rejoining the band to allow Tolman to be a full-time vocalist. Additionally, the material is a decided change in sonic direction for the band — with the material finding the band going for a lush, New Wave-like sound; in fact the album’s first single is the icy and angular “Lust Forevermore.” And while sonically bearing an uncanny resemblance to Joy Division, the song manages an uneasy balance of melancholy, anxious tension, pensiveness and urgency.

 

Video by William Ruben Helms

Live Footage: Up-and-Coming Belgian Post-Rock Act BRUTUS Performs “War” at Rain City

With the release of their full-length debut, 2017’s Burst, the Leuven, Belgium-based post-rock trio BRUTUS, comprised of Stefanie Mannaerts (drums, vocals), Stijn Vanhoegaerden (guitar) and Peter Mulders (bass) quickly received a national and international presence — and since their full-length debut’s release, they’ve toured with JOVM mainstay Chelsea Wolfe, Thrice, Russian Circles, played the major heavy EU festivals. Along with that Metallica’s Lars Ulrich has championed them. 

Building upon a rapidly growing profile, the Belgian post-rock trio’s Jesse Gander-produced sophomore album Nest is slated for a March 29, 2019 release through Sargent House Records. Interestingly, the members of the band will openly admit that the formative sound of the band was shaped by necessity: Mannaerts adopted vocal duties initially because no one else would. But with Nest, Mannaerts reportedly fully embraces her role as vocalist and drummer, with the album’s material revealing the full range of her talents  while the band as a whole has expanded upon and tightened their sound and approach. Thematically, the album focuses on the path they’ve taken — the euphoric highs of achieving a lifelong dream and success; but underlying all of that are moments of reflection, in which they all consider the choices they’ve made to pursue their dreams, and the impact those choices had on those, who they had to leave behind. The material focuses on the strange yet necessary friction between the band’s forward momentum and their desire to maintain connections to those back at home. But are such things possible when the things you’ve experienced, the things you’ve seen and done have become so different than those of your peers — and when you’ve taken such enormous risks to get to where you are at this moment? 

Clocking in at a little under 5 minutes and centered by Mannaerts’ expressive and emotional falsetto, Nest’s first single is the expansive “War,” a track that alternates between dreamy and ruminative shoegaze, aggressive and forceful thrash metal, complete with enormous arena filling hooks and even more massive power chords. Sonically, the song has an underlying painterly quality — with the song’s layers feeling like brushstrokes adding detail on the canvas; however, the track evokes the raw ache of isolation and the bleakness of taking stock of oneself — fully alone. 

The live footage captures the band perfuming “War” at Rain City and it captures the unique bond the musicians have while evoking the song’s raw and heartfelt emotions. 

Video by William Ruben Helms

Live Footage: Renowned Post Rock Duo El Ten Eleven Perform the Meditative Yet Cinematic “Phenomenal Problems” off Forthcoming Album

Comprised of Kristian Dunn (double-neck bass/guitar) and Tim Fogarty (drums), the Southern California-based post rock duo El Ten Eleven have developed a reputation for using a dizzying array of effect pedals and looping pedals to create a dense, complex, enormous and incredibly cinematic sound.  And since their formation back in 2002, the band has been steadfastly DIY in their approach, producing and recording their own records; however, with their forthcoming, seventh full-length album, and first for Topshelf Records, Banker’s Hill, the duo enlisted Sonny Dipierri, who has worked with Animal Collective and Dirty Projectors to produce the album, marking the first time that they’ve ever worked with an outside producer.

Slated for an August 10, 2018 release, the album reportedly finds the duo thematically explore the paradoxical beauty in anxiety, the importance of family and familial bonds, particularly in a world gone absolutely mad, and the fleeting possibility of satisfaction. Interestingly, the album’s first single “Phenomenal Problems” finds the duo deliberately walking a tightrope between an introspective and meditative nature and a widescreen, cinematic quality as the composition is centered around a propulsive boom bap-like beats and drumming, enormous, arena rock friendly power chord-based hooks within a twisting and turning song structure. And while the song will further cement their established reputation for crafting the densely layered and deceptively complex compositions, the new single is a subtle expansion of the duo’s sound and songwriting. 

This recently released live footage captures both the simpatico between Dunn and Fogarty while being a revealing and up-close-and-personal view of the musicians’ technical and musical prowess; after all for a duo, they manage to craft a sound that makes you think that there’s 4, 5 maybe even 6 musicians. 

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: The Brooding and Intimate Black and White Visuals for Fufanu’s “Tokyo”

Last year was a breakthrough year for the Reykjavik, Iceland-based indie rock/post-punk trio Fufanu as their sophomore effort Sports received attention nationally and internationally, thanks in part to critically applauded album singles like album title track, Sports,” which retains the synth-driven sound of their debut A Few More Days to Go while nodding at Can, Neu!  Joy Division and early ’80s Peter Gabriel,  and the slow-burning and moody  “Liability” and “White Pebbles.” And if you were frequenting this site, you’d recall that the Icelandic trio ended a breakthrough year with the release of a previously unreleased album single “Top of the Queens,” which was recorded during the Sports sessions and didn’t make the cut. 

Building upon a growing national and international profile, the members of the Icelandic post-punk trio recruited photographer Jonatan Gretarsson to direct and shoot the striking visuals for the moody and atmospheric album single “Tokyo.” Nodding at the gorgeous black and white photography and video work of the legendary Anton Corbjin, and perfume commercials, the incredibly intimate  video features the members of the band in individual and group portraits and tight close ups — and while capturing these brooding young men, there’s an underlying sense of their vulnerability, frailty, and ultimately their own loneliness. And as result, it further emphasizes the brooding nature of the song. 

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

 

Comprised of Offir Benjaminov (bass), Tamuz Dekel (guitar) and Dan Mayo (drums), the Tel Aviv, Israel-based instrumental trio, Tatran whose sound draws from rather electric sources, including jazz fusion, classical, avant-garde, post rock, electronic music, post-punk and several others. And while their material does posses some uncanny melodies, based around each member’s virtuosic musicianship, they’ve received even more attention for a live show based primarily on improvisation and their deep, almost psychic connection with one another.
With the Israeli instrumental trio’s recently released effort No Sides, the band explains that they decided upon a complete and radical shift within their songwriting approach. Whereas, they had a long-held practice of deliberately and repeatedly composing and revising their recorded material piece by piece, the trio decided to take a big creative risk. No Sides is a live recording of a show with the members of the band hitting the stage without having anything actually prepared or mapped out in front of a concert hall with the hopes that they could grab and hold on to “the frequency of inspiration, allowing the music to present and unfold itself in real-time through our unmediated communication, with the energy and presence of the people in the room
“Everything about this project, from the concept, through the performance, to its release revolves around trust. Trust in the power of honest immediate expression, in the moment, in ourselves and in the communication with you,” the band says. Album title track “No Sides” may be one of my favorite tracks on the album. Clocking in at a little over 8 minutes, the song pairs a sinuous and slinky bass line, some funky boom-bap drumming, atmospheric electronics and effects pedaled guitar chords — with the end result being the band creating a steady, funky groove that nods at hip-hop, jazz fusion and drum ‘n’ bass electronica simultaneously.

 

 

 

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

Perhaps best known as being one-half of renowned electro pop act, Radar Cult, KC Maloney has received an increasing national profile with the release of 2016’s LXII EP under his solo side project Adult Karate, a project that expands upon the sound of his primary project. And while arguably being a bit more minimalist, the project’s sound and aesthetic draws from several different styles and sub-genres of electronic music — including house music, acid house, techno, ambient electronica and others. Building upon the buzz that LXII EP received, Maloney will be releasing its follow up Indoors on March 31, 2017, and the album will reportedly see the Maloney’s solo project taking a decided sonic departure as the material possesses elements of post-punk and post-rock reminiscent of mid 80s New Order and In Ghost Colours-era Cut Copy. Also, as you’ll hear on Indoors‘ first single “From The Dust,” the material manages to also be a bit of a thematic departure. Although the song is less introspective than the material off its predecessor, the new single possesses a swaggering confidence; the sort of confidence that comes from a fully lived in life in which the song’s narrator has loved, had his heart broken, made mistakes and has found some hard-fought wisdom by living a life in his own terms — all while being one of the breeziest and summery songs Maloney has released to date.

Now while being a departure from his previously released material, Maloney’s latest single retains some of the elements that have won the attention of this site and the rest of the blogosphere as the song has a soaring hook, earnest and thoughtful songwriting paired with a sinuous bass line, along with shimmering and ethereal production.

 

 

 

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: Introducing the Post Rock/Post Punk Sounds of San Francisco’s The Soonest

Led by San Francisco, CA-based singer/songwriter Young Lee and featuring a rotating cast of collaborators including members of indie rock bands such as WATERS, Hazel English’s backing band, Doe Eye, There’s Talk, and Elsa y Elmar, The Soonest have released a handful of EPs at traditional recording studios that have won attention both locally and regionally for a layered and moody, 80s post-punk/post-rock leaning sound; in fact, Lee was asked to write the score to the documentary Weaving Shibusa.

Mixed by Greg Francis and mastered by TW Walsh, the project’s recently released full-length debut effort, Doors to the City was recorded in an empty Bay Area church, and the high wooden ceilings helped create the enormous, wall of sound like sound that you’ll hear on Doors to the City’s first single “Start a War,” a single that pairs Lee’s lilting and dramatic vocals with layers upon layers of angular guitar chords, a forceful, motorik-like groove consisting of a sinuous bass line and propulsive drumming, and an anthemic hook. Sonically, the song manages to channel Crocodiles and Heaven Up Here-era Echo and the Bunnymen — including deeply urgent and visual lyrics that describe an uneasy and fraught relationship.

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

Comprised of founding members Kristian Bell (vocals) and Gianni Honey (drums) and featuring Daniel Rumsey (bass), along with newest member Mark Breed (keyboards, guitar), the now Brighton, UK-based quartet The Wytches can actually trace its origins to Bell’s and Honey’s previous band together, The Crooked Canes, a Peterborough, UK-based band that the duo have publicly dismissed as being “really adolescent and embarrassing.” After the founding duo played n a few other locally based bands, they moved to Brighton for school and posted an ad for a bassist. Daniel Rumsey, a Dorsey, UK-born singer/songwriter and frontman of Dan Rumsey and The Bitter End, Fall Victim and The Voyage Andromeda was the only person to respond to the ad.

Initially formed as The Witches, the trio changed their name to The Wytches to make the band more searchable on Google. The then trio’s 2014 debut effort Annabel Dream Record was release to critical praise across the blogosphere, and as a result the then trio embarked on a wild, whirlwind period of national and international touring, which helped influenced the newly constituted quartet’s highly-anticipated and recently released follow up, All Your Happy Life.

Reportedly, All Your Happy Life draws from the experiences the band had while touring — including reading a ton of Tolstoy on the tour bus, listening to Elliott Smith, tons of live, underground metal sets and observation small-town English life with completely new eyes. And as you’ll hear on the album’s second and latest single “Crest of Death,” is a furious, bilious and scathing track that’s split into two distinct parts — a screamo/hardcore intro in which Bell’s vocal are paired with dirge-like guitar chords and the song’s anthemic, shout to the rafters chorus and a down-tempo, fucked psychedelia. While evoking a desperate howl into an cold, indifferent void, the song manages to express a bored, nihilistic shrug.

 

 

 

 

 

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: The Dario Argento-Inspired Visuals for Preoccupations’ Latest Single “Anxiety”

Although they received a massive amount of attention across the blogosphere with the 2014 release of their self-titled full-length debut, the Calgary, Alberta-based quartet originally known as Viet Cong actually formed in 2012 and can trace their origins […]

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

Although they’ve had a number of lineup changes over the years, the Athens, GA-based quartet Maserati, currently comprised of Coley Dennis (guitar), Matt Cherry (guitar). Chris McNeal (bass) and Mike Albanese (drums), have developed a reputation for a sound that draws heavily from post-rock, psych rock and prog rock since their formation back in 2000. Over the last few years, the band has increasingly been pursuing a sound that meshes elements of space rock, krautrock and psych rock with a retro-futuristic leaning.

The band’s forthcoming album Rehumanizer slated for an October 30 release through Brooklyn-based label Temporary Residence, Ltd. marks the first album that the band completely self-produced, as well as an effort in which the band openly employed technology as a songwriting tool.

As a result, Rehumanizer’s first single “End of Man” meshes a trippy motorik groove comprised of cascades of buzzing and shimmering synths, forcefully propulsive drumming and angular guitar chords played through layers of reverb and delay pedals paired with vocals fed through vocoder to craft a song that sounds inspired by Kraftwerk, Hawkwind and The Sword simultaneously. The album’s second single “Rehumanizer II” meshes propulsive and undulating synths, angular guitar chords reminiscent of A Flock of Seagulls‘ “I Ran ” and U2‘s “Wire,” and four-on-the-floor drumming to craft a furious and tense composition that clearly draws equally from 80s synth pop as it does from krautrock, complete with a chugging motorik groove. Both tracks are taut yet incredibly cinematic, as though they should be part of the soundtrack of a post apocalyptic, sci-fi thriller.