Post-Rock and Post-Metal

I was introduced to the bands, if not the concept, of Post-Rock by my friend Ani. If not for her, I would probably have taken a lot longer to find out about some these groups. Post-Rock is characterized by grand orchestral arrangements for rock music, and I don’t mean rock opera or anything like that. The music is expansive, like looking out at a sweeping landscape or vista. Its music that is either uplifting or dooming on an epic, sometimes apocalyptic scale. Bands in this category of music include Godspeed You! Black Emperor, Explosions in the Sky, Mogwai and Sigur Ros, to name just a few.

Post-Rock is separated from similar genres like Progressive Rock (Prog Rock) by a few things. The first is while Prog Rock is still based around the idea of a rock band, Post-Rock feels like it’s going beyond those constraints, hence its name Post-Rock. Another thing that separates them is that while a guitarist in a Prog Rock band might take time to solo off into infinity, in Post-Rock guitars play a more integral, rather than standoutish, role. The guitars have a more cascading or ambient feel to them, rather than a more in-your-face feel in other genres. In the case of Sigur Ros, guitarist/lead vocalist Jón Þór Birgisson plays the guitar with a cello bow, giving the now traditional instrument an otherworldly, alien feeling.

Post-Rock is often, but not always, instrumental. Even Godspeed You! has had guest vocalists, who usually recite poetry rather than sing. Sigur Ros is an exception in that they have a regular vocalist, but there’s a twist. Sigur Ros created their own language or voice music, depending how you look at it, for their albums. I already can’t understand Icelandic, but they’ve taken it a step further by singing in a made up language. Often, Post-Rock groups go beyond typical guitar, bass and drum arrangements to create music. Godspeed You! incorporates numerous string instruments into their arrangements as well as trumpets, samples and found sounds. Another group, A Silver Mt. Zion (which incidentally, shares members with Godspeed You!) is closer to a full on orchestra than a rock band. Explosions in the Sky counterparts this mentality with a three guitar and drums line-up. Do Make Say Think have a jazzy style which sets them apart from the rest of the Post-Rock scene (if such a thing exists?)

Lots of Post-Rock is played in major keys, which lend an epic, uplifting feeling to the music. When played in minor keys, the intricate music brings a crushing sense of doom and gloom, more so then most rock music. Likewise, the more major key focused groups bring on a sense of transcendence, or they do for me anyways.

Post-Metal is a slightly different beast than Post-Rock, usually more in line with Progressive Metal and Sludge Metal. In fact, Post-Metal can often be seen as a halfway point between Post-Rock and Sludge Metal, especially in the case of groups like Isis and Pelican. Others, like Kayo Dot, take on a more experimental side. The term Post-Rock has been called “an invention of "hipper-than-now taste-makers" by constellation records, but once a title like that is made, it’s hard to distance yourself from it. Also, it may be a title with serious possibilities of pretension, but it’s simply a title, and nothing else. These groups may not like it, but Post-Rock does at time describe their music very well. It’s an excellent genre, and all of the musicians involved are exceptionally talented, or else they wouldn’t be there.

-Listening Guide-

Godspeed You! Black Emperor (Canada)
-F#A# (Infinity)
-Lift You Skinny Hands like Antennas to Heaven
-Yanqui U.X.O.

Explosions in the Sky (USA)
-How Strange, Innocence
-Those Who Tell the Truth Shall Die, Those Who Tell the Truth Shall Live Forever

A Silver Mt. Zion (Canada)
-Born Into Trouble As the Sparks Fly Upwards
-13 Blues for Thirteen Moons

Do Make Say Think (Canada)
-& Yet & Yet

Mogwai (Scotland)
-Cody

Dirty Three (Australia)
-Ocean Songs

Red Sparowes (USA)
-At the Soundless Dawn

Sigur Ros (Iceland)
-Ágætis byrjun

Team Sleep (USA)
-Team Sleep (Somewhere between Post-Rock and Trip-Hop)

Pelican (USA)
-The Fire in Our Throats Will Beckon the Thaw
-City of Echoes

Russian Circles (USA)
-Enter

Isis (USA)
-Panopticon

This is only a place to start, most of the groups here have more than what I’ve listed. This is simply my collection.