The Rock Blogger

Okkervil River. The Stage Names. 2007. 3 stars.

Okkervil River sound like a melting pot of modern indie rock, taking all the folksiness of The Arcade Fire, The Shins, The Decemberists and Neutral Milk Hotel, and blending them all in a charming and lyrical package. The songs here are sweet, catchy and full of wit, but I can’t shake the feeling of familiarity that lines the entire record. While it may be difficult to differentiate these Austin natives from the top-tier of folk-tinged indie-rock, their knack for storytelling and refined vocal and compositional sensibilities have earned them a cult following. The Stage Names starts out strong, with lyrically clever and hook filled tunes like the whip smart “Our Life Is Not a Movie or Maybe”, the stomping “Unless It’s Kicks” and the delicate ballad of “Savannah Smiles”. The album unfortunately cannot keep the steady momentum for long and the later tracks tend to drag on into slower passages until it finally climaxes with their faithful cover of Brain Wilson’s “John Allyn Smith Sails”. A solid album but its best digested in parts, especially the strong opening half.

Its almost been a year since I picked up my first Sebadoh disc, the indie classic III, and I have been hunting down their other releases since. For those not in the know, Sebadoh is the lo-fi rock brain-child of Lou Barlow, formerly of Dinosaur Jr. and a hero of 90s indie rock. This video is for “Skull”, a song off their lauded Bakesale album from 94. Its as low budget as it gets, but it seems to capture the gritty, underdog spirit of early indie rock.

Mono/ World’s End Girlfriend Palmless Prayer Mass Murder Refrain 2005. 4.5 stars.

Two of Tokyo’s premier post rock acts combine forces on this triumphant collaboration, performing postmodern classical compositions that swell up with passion and nuanced virtuosity. As the title of this record suggests, it slowly opens with stirring sting harmonies that build from simple patterns to become full and dynamic melodies. As the 6 tracks (or trailers as the album names them) progress, the gentle melodies give way to dramatic emotional peaks as the guitars crash and the strings swirl, immersing the listener in its sophisticated crescendos. The sounds Mono and World’s End Girlfriend create here are not only strikingly beautiful but also show the maturity of both bands, as they possess patience and restraint as they flesh out their celestial requiems. Listen to this as you walk under a starry December sky, with the moonlight shining across your face.

A fascinating cover of a Set Fire to Flames song (I think its one from Sings Rein Rebuilder which was featured on my Post Rock list) where the player uses a violin bow on an electric guitar producing mournful and beautiful sounds. A very fitting tribute to a terrific and underwritten band.

Grails. Burning off Impurities 2007. 4 stars.

A dark and trace-inducing psychedelic rock album, Grails’ Burning off Impurities is not only a homage to progressive acts of the 70s, it also fuses Middle-Eastern inspired guitar riffs with metal’s propulsive drive and heaviness. The tracks here are incredibly fluid and organic sounding, especially the slow-burning “Drawn Curtains” which includes strings and blues-style bass lines and percussion. While the entire album is instrumental, it is still lyrical, conjuring up evocative mental imagery with the band’s incredible attention to sonic detail. Burning off Impurities is a meditative and genuinely psychedelic experience.

Concubine - mp3

Concubine The War Upstairs 2007
Artwork by Damien Van Vroenhoven

Post-rock is a popular term thrown around the indie-music world to describe experimental, instrumental or high-concept music where rock instrumentation is used unconventionally, with a focus on long compositions while often omitting power chords, lyrics and hooks.

While many artists have been labeled as being post-rock, its usage is still controversial among critics who maintain that the term is too broad and outdated. Yet as prominent acts who fit the post-rock ‘profile’ begin to raise in popularity and influence, the term has yet to dissipate. So to help clear some of the confusion as to what this genre is, I thought I ‘d list my favorite albums that I would describe as being post-rock.

#10. Tortoise Millions Now Living will Never Die 1996.

One of the most revered and influential works in the genre, Millions is a kinetic and fluid album that features jazz-influenced passages interwoven with tight, fast-paced guitar work, electronic arrangements and boisterous percussion. One of the founding albums of post-rock, the style and pacing of this work would later inspire Do Make Say Think.

#9. A Silver Mt. Zion. He Has Left Us Alone but Shafts of Light Sometimes Grace the Corner of Our Rooms. 2000.

A Silver Mt. Zion started off as a side-project of Godspeed You Black Emperor and have since branched out into being a full-fledged band. Their sound, like GYBE is sorrowful and achingly beautiful, relying on swooning strings, bellowing bass lines and little percussion (though additional instrumentation and more vocals were introduced in their later albums). This album is the band’s first and it predominantly features string arrangements and sparse production, often mixing classical elements with bizarre (yet hypnotic) field recordings and jangly guitar lines. A brilliant exercise in melancholy.

#8. Set Fire to Flames. Sings Reign Rebuilder. 2001.

Set Fire to Flames is a collective of Montreal musicians (again including members of Godspeed) who create haunting and challenging soundscapes. This is a brilliant concept album where the musicians were holed up in a deteriorating house for several days, forced to collaborate on extended jams which feature orchestrated requiems, strange electronic drones and plenty of natural ambient noise, rounding out a work that is both atmospheric and beautiful. A stunning achievement in chamber music.

#7. Explosions in the Sky Those who tell the truth will die, those who tell the truth will live forever. 2001.

This album is a dramatic, brooding and lyrical affair, with its dynamic instrumental songs opening with delicate guitar lines that slowly spill over into crunching riffs and martial drumming. EITS always pack an emotional punch, creating masterful mood pieces that shimmer with intensity. While their later albums refined their sound with better production and more cohesive structure, this album (being their second) is the most inspiring, cathartic and uninhibited.

#6. Slint Spiderland 1991.

A landmark for the genre, Slint’s schizophrenic dynamics, dark atmosphere, sparse production and skeletal guitar work laid the groundwork for bands like Mogwai and Explosions in the Sky. The songs on Spiderland are hushed, unnerving and strangely beautiful, making edgy and compelling music through the careful creation of atmosphere and tension, rather than working with traditional song structures. The result is an album that is intriguing and gripping, thrusting you across a wide spectrum of emotions.

#5. Labradford. Prazision LP 1993.

The debut album from this Virginia duo was a brilliant melding of ghostly guitar music and striking synthesized ambiance. The songs here are soothing and ethereal without loosing the dark edge provided by the hushed vocals and deliberate guitar work. When listened to in the right context, this album can make for quite a spiritual experience as the songs possess an otherworldly quality to them. Labradford are clearly one of the most underrated bands in existence.

#4. Talk Talk Laughing Stock. 1991.

Another album that has stood as a watermark for all bands designated as being post-rock, Laughing Stock is mind-bending work that takes swirling jazz elements and complements them with energized percussion, cryptic vocals and psychedelic guitar passages. Expanding beyond the conventions of rock, jazz and ambient traditions, Laughing Stock redefined experimental rock music for the 1990s.

#3. Sigur Ros Ágætis Byrjun. 1999.

One of the most critically lauded and successful post rock bands is Sigur Ros, famous for their strange yet serene vocals and otherworldy ambiance. The songs here are gorgeous as they slowly build in intensity, as the string arrangements swirl, the guitars jangle and the vocals steeply climb atop the thundering crescendos. An emotional ride that stirs up vivid imagery and memories.

#2. Mogwai. Young Team. 1997.

Young Team was this Scottish band’s first LP and it offered a blistering example of how dynamic the post rock genre is. From its relaxed and fluid bass lines and cyclical drumming to its calculated and climatic guitar squalls, the epic journeys each one of these songs take are invigorating and immersing. The album’s final track “Mogwai Fear Satan” is a 17 minute maelstrom that never lets up in intensity.

#1. Godspeed You Black Emperor. Lift Your Skinny Fists Like Antennas to Heaven. 2000.

The holy grail of post rock albums, GYBE’s second full length is a two disc juggernaut that washes over the listener with its cinematic qualities, wide emotional range and sprawling song structures. Their coveted acopyltic jams are infused with heart-breaking string arrangements, tension-filled guitar, blasting horns and other experimental elements like field recordings and vocal samples.

The album is comprised of four extremely long tracks that take the listener on an incredible trip through the darkest pits of despair to glorious bursts of light, proving themselves to be masters of composition and cohesion (I think there are over 10 people playing at a time on this record).

Orchestral and experimental, this is the soundtrack to the greatest movie never made.

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

Well, there you have it, my list of The Best Post Rock Albums. I hope it has been an informative and comprehensive summation of this complex and rewarding genre. For more information on Post Rock and other bands that I did not include on this list, check out Post Rock articles on Wikipedia and Allmusic. Cheers.

This is an awesome song from The Walkmen’s 2004 LP Bows and Arrows. The Walkmen were probably one of the better bands from that whole garage band revival thing, which also included The Strokes and The White Stripes. Enjoy.

With/Avec 2007

Promising Montreal art-rockers Plants and Animals will release their first full-length album Parc Avenue on February 26th, according to Chart Attack. The release will feature 11 tracks and follows their excellent EP With/Avec which was released at the end of October. To hear two tracks off With/Avec, and to see a list of upcoming tour dates, check out the band’s myspace page.

Here, industrial dynamos Jesu put on a powerful performance of “We all Faulter”, one of the most intense tracks from their self-titled debut album. Their more recent LP Conquerer is just as killer and it ranked #4 on my Top 50 of 2007 List. I saw these guys in New York City and my jaw hit the floor. Here’s why: