Any Post-Rockers in the house?

[xybert]

Heaps of cool stuff that i've never heard being posted in this thread. I would have been all over A Minor Forest back in the day, right up my alley.

[clifford_thornton]

3 hours ago, Guy Berger said:

Another one that was released around the same era which might fit in the genre - Add N to X, AVANT HARD.

oh yeah, I remember them. Wasn't really into 'em but certainly remember & may have seen them.

Trans Am and The VSS also skirted this realm, though I could never get too excited about them either -- a bit bland for my tastes. But hey, part of the scene.

Coptic Light may be of interest to some -- Kevin Shea exploding all over the place against heavy pince-nez riffage. A little later than some of the music mentioned upthread; Bitch Magnet guitarist Jon Fine was the engine for this trio coming together.

[Scott Dolan]

Much appreciated, gents! You've made me glad that I started this thread. I echo what xybert said. So much good stuff posted. 

[Aggie87]

Fan of Mogwai, Talk Talk, and Sigor Ros.  I didn't previously connect those three bands sonically, but I guess if we're labelling it, then ok.  I've always just considered all of them rock or indie rock perhaps.    

Also Spacemen 3 and their successor Spiritualized.  And The Warlocks.  Does Sun O))) fit here?  Maybe they're a little too heavy/droney/dark.  I find Beach House a fascinating band as well, but it's nothing like Sun O))).  

 

 

[Scott Dolan]

Yeah, I think Sun O))) might be more in the Post-Metal vein. I really like what little I've heard from them, but they're different from the bands most consider Post-Rock. Closer to the Isis tune Clifford posted earlier, IMO. 

[clifford_thornton]

Spacemen 3 I think of as a psych band. Never saw them of course but the recordings are superb. Spiritualized I tried but couldn't really get into, though I should give 'em another shot.

for those familiar w/ the Spacemen orig, this cover is hilarious:

 

[Aggie87]

That's great!

I've got a Spacemen 3 tribute album somewhere, you've inspired me to dig that out...

[BFrank]

OK - this is interesting. I'm not familiar with a lot of these bands. I have a couple of Tortoise albums that are so-so, and heard about Mogwai for a long time but never got any.

What are some "post-rock" bands that are active and producing good albums? That's what I would be most interested in. I like bands that I might have a chance to see live.

[Scott Dolan]

Mogwai is still active and just released a new album this past year. 

And here are ten more that are obviously still active:  http://www.albumoftheyear.org/genre/29-post-rock/2016/

Explosions In The Sky are playing St. Louis in March, so I know for a fact that they are on tour. GY!BE was on a world tour throughout 2015-16. Sigur Roś is currently on tour. 

[Guy Berger]

17 hours ago, Aggie87 said:

Also Spacemen 3 and their successor Spiritualized.  And The Warlocks.  Does Sun O))) fit here?  Maybe they're a little too heavy/droney/dark.  I find Beach House a fascinating band as well, but it's nothing like Sun O))).  

I have one Spiritualized album - Ladies and Gentlemen We Are Floating In Space - and I think it's OK.  Not bad, not great.

I've heard some Explosions in the Sky on Pandora and they're not really my thing - they kind of sound like generic instrumental guitar rock.

Edited January 20, 2017 by Guy Berger

[Scott Dolan]

Explosions In The Sky is on the lighter weight side of the spectrum, but I have heard some really nice tunes from them. 

This Will Destroy You is somewhat in that vein, but much better, IMO. 

[clifford_thornton]

Tortoise is touring this spring.

One of the guys from Scenic has been working on putting something new together and I'm in touch with him; will let you know what it is and when/if music becomes available.

Pajo is still active although I haven't followed much of his music since his brief involvement w/ Tortoise & The For Carnation. Slint periodically reunites, which is cool since they barely played live back in the day. 

A band I didn't mention because I'm not sure they really fit here is Lungfish (on hiatus), but their musical architect and guitarist, Asa Osborne, has a wonderful minimalist and rather drone-y, yet very unique project called Zomes. He/they tour and have put out recordings consistently over the last several years. Definitely would appeal to fans of the "post-rock" scene.

[BFrank]

Great, thanks! 

I've listened to one or two Explosions in the Sky albums and don't like them. Seems like meandering power trio jamming - but maybe I'm missing something.

[Scott Dolan]

I'd say listen to Agaetis Byrjun from Sigur Roś, and Raise Your Skinny Fists from Godspeed You! Black Emperor. 

If neither of those click, it's officially time for you to bail. 

[clifford_thornton]

yeah, it's not for everybody but there is a diverse enough landscape of bands that fit under this rubric that something, somewhere, may appeal. My friend used to call The Sea and Cake "Steely Can" (a combo of Can and Steely Dan) and I think it's both hilarious and accurate. Tortoise is also very Can-like -- the Doug McCombs/John McEntire rhythm section takes a lot of cues from Holger Czukay and Jaki Liebezeit (or perhaps even more the later version w/ Roscoe Gee & Liebezeit).

[Scott Dolan]

Agreed. And like any musical genre, you either "get" it, or you don't. If you do, enjoy! If you don't, no big deal. 

[clifford_thornton]

I never really thought of these outfits as 'post-rock' at the time, more an update on 'space-rock' perhaps, but the music of Flying Saucer Attack, Jessamine, Roy Montgomery and Windy & Carl, while diverse, certainly might appeal to some here.

Saw a band last night that might appeal to the heavier/rockish tendencies upthread going by the moniker Horse Torso. Two guitarists, bassist and drummer (who seemed to be directing things) and in the vein of artists like Don Caballero, U.S. Maple, Cheer-Accident and Ativin. New group without an LP as of yet, but perhaps one to watch.

[BFrank]

I saw Heron Oblivion last night. Not sure they really meet the "Post-Rock" description, but they ARE sort of uncategorizable. Their dual psychedelic guitar sound ranges from swirling wah-wah to low-key Brit-folk to Sonic Youth feedback-laced guitar solos. The drummer Meg Baird is also the lead singer who's voice is somewhere between Sandy Denny and Jacqui McShee - so, totally in opposition to the overall sound of the band.

Genre description on FB: Funeral Folk, Fuzz burn, Pastoral Pop, Field Rock, Albion Dirge (traditional), etc

[Scott Dolan]

Picked up There Is No Stillness by a group called Glories a couple of days ago. I think it's fantastic. 

[clifford_thornton]

I've been meaning to check out Heron Oblivion. Meg was in Espers back in the day, which was a pretty cool and interesting band at the time.

[BFrank]

Anyone know the Kraken Quartet?

[clifford_thornton]

no, but I've heard of them.

Kicking myself for being too tired/busy to make Skryptor on Sunday night -- writer/drummer Hank Shteamer (STATS), guitarist Tim Garrigan (Dazzling Killmen), bassist David McClelland (Craw) -- but they presumably fit the bill, more math rock-y though. And they have a Braxton tune (Comp. 23C) in their set list. Surely there'll be more performances.

[.:.impossible]

Steely Can. I love that. 

A sampling of the Thrill Jockey catalog from the era will unearth a bunch of great moments.

Scott, are you familiar with Broadcast? Not sure what the official classification would be, but they were a band I saw live a few times back then in association with many of these groups. 

 

Coincidentally, I was mining the used bins for all of this music around the same time I first discovered my love of jazz music. 

[.:.impossible]

I'd also probably recommend Grandaddy here?

 

If you like Daniel Lanois, you might be interested in listening to live recordings from 2005, featuring Tortoise as his backing band. Not post-rock, but interesting to hear those guys doing that music together.

 

Down another stream, the Swell Maps stream perhaps, you might be interested in Refused's album The Shape of Punk to Come. 

[BFrank]

I might be seeing Grandaddy next week. Sounds interesting.