Any fans of 65daysofstatic or maybeshewill here?

Jay P

So yeah, as the title suggests. There's a bit of an absense of the whole "post-rock" thing or whatever the correct term is so I thought I'd start a discussion. So yeah, anyone else like this kind of thing?

ANarcho-Munk

Some great stuff out there for sure. Godspeed You Black Emperor are phenomenal, just to mention one band.


But post-rock seems to be getting borderline clíched imo, I like it, no doubt, but at times it feels like everyone is just playing along to the same song and not coming up with something more deviated or different. Bands are just sticking to the same formula.

...but saying that, most post-rock is quite different in it's own very nature.

I'm not sure where i'm going with this but.

Nick_oliveri

Ive been listening to a lot of Post Rock lately starting from my introduction to God is an Astronaut. I can relate with what ANarcho said above, there is a song from "UpcdowncleftcrightcabcStart" that sounds exactly like a song from Explosions in the Sky.

Post Rock seems to be three formulas/lae, theres the crazy "65 days" ****, the soft "Samuel Jackson 5" ****, and the heavy "Russian Circles" ****.

Disclaimer: none of which is ****!!

John

I think the term post rock has become synonymous with the whole long instrumental quiet-LOUD-quiet-LOUD-quiet style of music. When the term came out (think it was Simon Reynolds who coined it), it just meant music made using a rock format but in a totally un-rock way. Groups like Stars of the Lid, Labradford and Tortoise were the archetypes and all three sound quite different (and none of them sound like any of the bands mentioned in the above posts).

Bands like 65daysofstatic or God is an Astronaut sound really clichéd to me I have to say, when that style of music is done well (see Godspeed or Mogwai at their best) it can be transcendental but equally it can be very boring. That being said, that's the kind of music my band plays so I can't really give out too much.

cornbb

I listened to a lot of post rock some years ago, some of it was really mind blowing (in particular Mogwai, Tortoise and Godspeed stood out for me) but I'd agree that it can also sound a bit same-y and formulaic after a whole. Maybe God Is An Astronaut, Explosions In The Sky and Do Make Say Think are guilty of this.

I think post rock is a pretty cool genre in general though. Its very accessible - for me it served as one of the gateways between rock music and experimental/electronic music. I also played in a post rock band for a while which was a lot of fun.

Nick_oliveri

cornbb wrote: »

I listened to a lot of post rock some years ago, some of it was really mind blowing (in particular Mogwai, Tortoise and Godspeed stood out for me) but I'd agree that it can also sound a bit same-y and formulaic after a whole. Maybe God Is An Astronaut, Explosions In The Sky and Do Make Say Think are guilty of this.

I have never listened to Mogwai or your other bracketed bands, i may do so, i need to improve my collection anyways.

What does piss me off: I was at a God is an Astronaut gig in Dublin, and there was a severe lack of moshing at this gig, about three other lads i didnt know and myself, looking like twats. I dont like artzy types that only go there to sit, stand or "appreciate" the style\genre. :pac:

cornbb

Nick_oliveri wrote: »

I have never listened to Mogwai or your other bracketed bands, i may do so, i need to improve my collection anyways.

What does piss me off: I was at a God is an Astronaut gig in Dublin, and there was a severe lack of moshing at this gig, about three other lads i didnt know and myself, looking like twats. I dont like artzy types that only go there to sit, stand or "appreciate" the style\genre. :pac:

Wouldn't have thought God Is An Astronaut were a moshy type band. And there's a lot to be said for going to certain gigs to sit/stand there and listen to the music

Nick_oliveri

Ahh when any band gets heavy i like to hop around like a mad ejjit. Seems like the thing to do.

Scubadevils

I need to check out more Post Rock. I love what I have heard from Godspeed and will definitely check out more listed here.

There is a definite move in the IDM world, especially some US labels towards what I would describe as IDM/Post Rock/Shoegaze type sound which is really excellent. A good example would be the brilliant Lights Out Asia on the n5MD label...

http://www.discogs.com/release/1410106

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LWzPztkzGFk

I would also HIGHLY recommend the following compilation from n5MD which the above track is featured on - it is unreal...

http://www.discogs.com/release/1112212

http://www.amazon.co.uk/One-Five-Zero-Various-Artists/dp/B000VAR2P0/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=music&qid=1225299175&sr=8-2

John

Nick_oliveri wrote:

I dont like artzy types that only go there to sit, stand or "appreciate" the style\genre. :pac:

Some people just like to listen. I don't even mosh at metal gigs let alone at something like God is an Astronaut. Different strokes for different folks.

AdMMM

The thought of moshing to post-rock is disturbing :O.

Anyway, 65d are one of my favourite bands at the moment - they seem to be driving away from the tried and tested formula that Post-rock bands have been relying on. With that being said, I don't think there's anything wrong with that formula and have yet to find a Post-rock band that I haven't found an album, or at least a song, that I haven't enjoyed!

With regards Maybeshewill, I have their albums here somewhere, just trying to find time to listen to them is the problem as Last.fm has me on some never-ending music discovery this past few weeks!

Jay P

cornbb wrote: »

I think post rock is a pretty cool genre in general though. Its very accessible - for me it served as one of the gateways between rock music and experimental/electronic music. I also played in a post rock band for a while which was a lot of fun.

Yeah, that's basically how I see it too. I find it breaks the sound of what I'm listening to most at the moment, mainly Pendulum, Daft Punk and Radiohead, and manages to give bits of all three. I only got into them basically in the last two weeks thanks to a band a few guys I know are in. I'll just do a spot of plugging for them cos I honestly think they're awesome, so yeah Cities, check em out!

RNL

I don't think I've ever heard Stars of the Lid referred to as postrock, but hey...

I've moved more to the experimental/ambient end of the spectrum over the last year or so, but I used to listen to loads of this stuff.

This Will Destroy You, Giants and MaybeSheWill have put out the best postrock* albums this year, if you ask me.

*I define this term more narrowly than a lot of people do.

RNL

Oh, and Mogwai's latest is excellent too.

John

RNL wrote: »

I don't think I've ever heard Stars of the Lid referred to as postrock, but hey...

As I said, what was initially described as post rock were bands like Stars of the Lid and Labradford as well as Godspeed and Mogwai. It meant the use of rock instrumentation for non-rock purposes (which SOTL definitely fit into). Now it just means bands that play long rock songs. If you have heard the Stars of the Lid track "JP RIP", there's a recording from 1995 of John Peel on his show reading from The Wire about this new fangled genre called post rock and the bands he name checks are: Tortoise, Labradford, Stars of the Lid and a couple of others I can't remember.

RNL

John wrote: »

As I said, what was initially described as post rock were bands like Stars of the Lid and Labradford as well as Godspeed and Mogwai. It meant the use of rock instrumentation for non-rock purposes (which SOTL definitely fit into). Now it just means bands that play long rock songs. If you have heard the Stars of the Lid track "JP RIP", there's a recording from 1995 of John Peel on his show reading from The Wire about this new fangled genre called post rock and the bands he name checks are: Tortoise, Labradford, Stars of the Lid and a couple of others I can't remember.

I've heard Labradford and Tortoise referred to as postrock, but never seldom SOTL (fair point on "J.P.R.I.P.", I'd forgotten about that). And yeah, I know how it was defined by Simon Reynolds, and I agree that, going by his definition, SOTL and their like are more deserving of the label than the likes of Explosions in the Sky, who could hardly fairly be described as 'non-rock' (with the caveat that SOTL seldom use any percussion, which raises the question of how much rock instrumentation a band has to use for non-rock purposes to be making postrock). I've raised this point before elsewhere.

You can chart the development of the term from the early '90s, when it was applied to bands that really couldn't be called rock bands, through the mid/late '90s when it was applied to bands like Dirty Three, Mogwai and GYBE, who were more rock orientated, until finally EITS and Sigur Rós became the biggest names in the genre with a sound that could really quite accurately be described as dynamic ambient rock. But it is rock.

Nowadays, frankly, I think the term has become so broad and is used to descibe so many different kinds of bands (from A Silver Mt Zion to Mono to Tarentel to M83) that it really refers as much or more to a music scene than it does to any definite genre or aesthetic. Some of what's called postrock now is rock, some of it isn't even close.

The characterisation of postrock as all hinging on some exploration of quiet/loud dynamics is a cliché that doesn't stand up to any scrutiny. Pitchfork seem to be responsible for reinforcing that notion. It's a commonality between a lot of the more popular 'postrock' bands at the moment, but it's far from definitive.

John

Although I argue that it doesn't stand up to scrutiny considering Godspeed, Mogwai, Explosions in the Sky, A Silver Mt. Zion, Mono, Sigur Rós, Slint, Kinski, etc. are all guilty of it to some extent (some to a larger extent).

Personally, post rock has become a lazy cop out for journalists to not bother describing the sound of a band. I rarely (if ever) use it myself as it doesn't really say anything about the music anymore. Then again, in its original context, it was meant to be a catch all term for all these eclectic groups that appeared in the 90s.

RNL

John wrote: »

Although I argue that it doesn't stand up to scrutiny considering Godspeed, Mogwai, Explosions in the Sky, A Silver Mt. Zion, Mono, Sigur Rós, Slint, Kinski, etc. are all guilty of it to some extent (some to a larger extent).

They are, but plenty of bands aren't.

And on the other hand, plenty of bands do the quiet/loud thing but aren't classified as postrock (perhaps often because they use vocals).

Quiet/loud, ie; use of wide dynamic range, is a pretty common trait in a lot of different styles of music.

The way Pitchfork write about Mogwai, for instance, you'd think every second song followed a "Like Herod" formula.

So, yes:

post rock has become a lazy cop out for journalists to not bother describing the sound of a band.

Kold

Big Post Rock lover myself. I think one of the problems with the genre is that it's fairly.. inoffensive. Most of it is fairly good, but it's hard to distinguish one song from another and then one band from another. What's not to like? Crashing drums, atmosphere, melody, screaming guitars, drama and for the most part, no lyrics to get in the way. Timeless.

Experienced it live for the first time last month when GIAA came to Cork. Was blown away but, even though I've their discography, I couldn't name a single song. It's a bit odd.

The Post Rock term has always bewildered me a little because when I learnt of it, it was used to describe this bunch of bands that all sounded kind of like Mogwai. Didn't really get the term and can understand the resentment a lot of them have with being labelled under it. I mean, could QOTSA be accused of making a couple of Post Rock songs?

JæKæ

Kold wrote: »

I mean, could QOTSA be accused of making a couple of Post Rock songs?

Rated R had a few on it alright, the other albums less so.
Of the more recent 'Post-rock' albums, Laymar released a good one recently.

John

JæKæ wrote: »

Rated R had a few on it alright, the other albums less so.
Of the more recent 'Post-rock' albums, Laymar released a good one recently.

Erm, where on Rated R? If any band are very much rock and not past being rock, it's QOTSA.

Nick_oliveri

Better living through chemistry? I dont have the album bere so i cant say which song but the long excellent one with the Saxophone is kinda "Post Rock".

John

Well if Nick Oliveri says so I can't argue

JæKæ

Nick_oliveri wrote: »

Better living through chemistry? I dont have the album bere so i cant say which song but the long excellent one with the Saxophone is kinda "Post Rock".

Yep, that and I Think I Lost My Headache
I agree QotSA aren't Post Rock, but on that album they strayed a bit away from straight up rock. It ain't post rock in the GYBE way, but still maybe Post-rock