[Masonjar]

Not mentioned yet (if it was I missed it):

EITS (and many other post-rock bands) owe a huge debt to Slint's SPIDERLAND.

Just sayin'...

-jar

 

[Relayer71]

Definitely!
How could I forget Slint?!

Unfortunately they only released 2 albums in their brief lifetime but they're probably the grandfathers of this thing called "post-rock".

Spiderland is a nice album, if a bit short - and the songs aren't instrumental - although the lyrics are often whispered or "spoken-word".

2 of the members also played together as The For Carnation - a more interesting sounding band in my opinion which also featured members of Tortoise. Their 2000 self named release is a good place to start.

Another great band with similar sound roots (and a larger and more stylistically varied recorded legacy than Slint) is June Of 44. "Tropics And Meridians" and "Four Great Points" are excellent.

As you can see listing these bands becomes like a map, where one leads to another...

...and the above bands all share a certain aesthetic in their sound - the quiet, almost jazzy, very musical sections with hushed spoken-word verses which explode in loudly recorded drums and screamed choruses/verses actually reminds me a lot of the great band FUGAZI

 

[ls20]

how is it that theres 2 pages of dancing roughly around the genre / style with 80% fo the relevant bands and noone brought up Do Make Say Think?

 

[Scotty757]

SERIOUSLY!!
THE NOODLERS!!!!

Really, DMST (or as I like to call them, "the action verbs") are masters of noodling. "& yet & yet" is almost flawless... Also, Fly Pan Am is pretty damn good. Interestingly, Slint and I never got along. I guess I just dont "get it."

Still, no other band has the kind of emotional impact on me that EITS has.

A fun experiment: Listen to GY!BE's "F#A# (infinity)" followed DIRECTLY by EITS "The Earth is Not a Cold Dead Place." The first is so grim, the second so triumphant. Its an excercise in your own emotional range.

 

[compuryan]

o man i love these guys. the free album online is excellent as is!

 

[Masonjar]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Relayer71 Definitely! How could I forget Slint?! Another great band with similar sound roots (and a larger and more stylistically varied recorded legacy than Slint) is June Of 44. "Tropics And Meridians" and "Four Great Points" are excellent.

Have you heard Rodan's RUSTY? Mmmm slintastic!

Another great one of this era/sound is ANGEL WINGS by Engine Kid.

-jar

 

[J-Pak]

Another post rock band I'm sure every single person in this thread will love is We're From Japan! http://www.werefromjapan.com/

Other bands that are worth a listen (and you may love, or be indifferent to):
65daysofstatic
Grails
Red Sparrows
Larsen
The Six Parts Seven (another one of my favorites)

Mogwai remains my favorite post rock band though. GY!BE is great, but they really need to release another album. As for ASMZ I could only get into their first album.

 

[Masonjar]

Never having heard Mono before, earlier this evening I picked up Mono's ONE MORE STEP AND YOU DIE (it was the only Mono album my friend had in his store..). Just finished my first listen. And all I have to say is..


[size=medium]NOW [/size][size=large]THAT'S[/size] WHAT I'M TALKING ABOUT BABY!!!!!

 

[squall2072]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Masonjar Never having heard Mono before, earlier this evening I picked up Mono's ONE MORE STEP AND YOU DIE (it was the only Mono album my friend had in his store..). Just finished my first listen. And all I have to say is.. [size=medium]NOW [/size][size=large]THAT'S[/size] WHAT I'M TALKING ABOUT BABY!!!!!

Finally, post-rock love is growing on head-fi!

If you'd like to try Godspeed... http://www.archive.org/details/gybe2003-05-14.shnf (Its a live recording of them

for the unreleased songs you'll want Gamelan and Albanian)

And for yndi halda

http://www.megaupload.com/?d=PF87DFZN Just be sure to get there album in november, they're fantastic

 

[Purgatos]

It's funny because I know almost every band/album mentioned in this thread, but still have absolutely no idea how to classify post-rock.

 

[squall2072]

[size=xx-small]Quiet[/size]............[size=x-large]LOUD![/size]

 

[Masonjar]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Purgatos It's funny because I know almost every band/album mentioned in this thread, but still have absolutely no idea how to classify post-rock.

It's the kind of music that you just know it when you hear it.

I only hope that it doesn't become too predictable.

I mean, when did YOUNG TEAM come out? We still have bands making albums that are hugely influenced by early Mogwai.

If the only thing a band can do is Ape some other band, then I'm probably not going to spend my money.

I am glad I got that Mono album though.. even though there are some parts that are nearly indistinguishable from Explosions in the Sky, the overall effect of the album is very moving.

-jar

 

[squall2072]

Alot of the new small bands sound like Explosions, but some are doing things a bit different:

65daysofstatic

Yndi halda

Sparrows swarm and sing (more like godspeed I guess)

There's alot of bands about, but the classics are easily the best IMO

 

[Scotty757]

another one worth mentioning (excuse me if it already has) is Red Sparrowes: At the Soundless Dawn.

If you like EITS, I'll throw down a guarantee on this one.

 

[Relayer71]

To the poster who said he didn't know how to classify or define Post-Rock - that's a good point.

I guess it applies to any instrumental rock band or mostly instrumental rock band starting from the late 80s, early 90s. I actually first heard the term as used to describe the music of Toirtoise and they're indeed pioneers. The thing is Tortoise really has little in common with EITS except that it's instrumental!

But being a fan of 70s Progressive Rock, I think that label applies to these groups along with bands like Radiohead. These are bands that at the core play "rock" music but outside of standard rock music conventions: non-standard tempos, experimenting with sounds, creating music with a wide emotional, musical and lyrical range - music that often sounds timeless.

Listen to the music of any of these bands. You don't necessarily hear the influence of it's time - in other words none of them have an "80s", "90s" or "00s" sound. They could have been recorded 20 years ago or 20 years from now.

A perfect example - and for those willing to expand their musical appreciation from the "post-rock" of this topic and into early "progressive rock" - is Genesis' 1974 double album, "The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway".

This album sounds like it could have been recorded last month and it's 32 years old. It features very high musicianship yet is very musical and somewhat accessible (as accessible as a double concept album can be!) and features some of the sound experimentation and atmospheric instrumental playing that is recognizable in today's "post-rock".