The second online album. Generation of This Order from the Italian alternative / grunge band Confusion is Next surpasses their first well received effort. Their post-rock tendencies have been sprinkled heavily with 90s influences from band like R.E.M. and Nirvana. The six tracks on this excellent album gives you 32 minutes of dense rock riffs and plaintive vocals.
The album is available from the Trastienda net label in 192kbps M3.
The Walt’s 20 minute excursion into manic rock titled “Something We Did Not Have” is another fine offering from The Beep! Beep! Back Up The Truck net label. This is sort of a Beep! Beep! super-band that includes members of We vs. Death, Kismet, Stellenbosch and Dawn of Awakening. While the four man ensemble is a tight knitted ensemble , it is the over-the-top vocals of Johan Nijhoff that really gets the attention. The track titled “Self-Reflective Temper Management” should tell you everything you need to know about their music. The Walt should remind post-punk, hard-core and garage rock fans of At The Drive-In and Hot Snakes.
The album is available in VBR MP3 from the Beep! Beep! web site or through the Jamendo link below.
The two track self-titled album from German band Kodiak is a involved excursion into minimalist drones and post-rock. The first track “Beginning” starts out with a lone cellist repeating a five note theme and is soon joined by blaring guitars that play a slight variation. The 18 minute result is an ambient track that is not all that ambient but is more of a minimal form of noise rock and post-rock. “End” goes on for 21 minutes with a similar drone-like soundscape peppered with singular guitar blasts. It is a beautiful but slightly abrasive work. The two tracks that make up this album are not what I would call entertaining but they have an unmistakable sense of artistry and should be experienced at least once.
The album is available on Denovali Records in 160kbps MP3.
Los Angeles based Charts and Maps has a jaunty mix of jazz and progressive rock that raises it above most of the instrument rock competition. The addition of a saxophone with the usual arsenal of guitars, bass and drum makes it a welcome change from the ever-growing population of progressive and post-rock instrumental bands that inundate the web. Their new EP Enemies of C. Frias makes it clear that this group is not going to go down the same road as all the others. “Pearl Divers of The Arabian Pennisula” lays down a nice funky into on guitar end with a cross of math rock and jazz fusion. The other three tracks are most in the line of post-rock but “In the Town of Machine” wraps of the EP with a ten minute rock epic that is the highlight of the album. An exceptional instrumental rock album.
Enemies of C. Frias is available from Lost Childrens in VBR MP3 (around 196kbps).
Japanese Gum is an Italian duo of rock and electronics that really got my head spinning. Their brief EP titled Without You, I’m Napping is just under the 15 minutes duration limit I arbitrarily use for this blog but there are enough musical ideas crowded into these three tracks for a couple of albums. The Japanese Gum sound is a traffic jam of psychedelica, progressive rock, space electronics, and vocals that sounds like The Mary and Jesus Chain in a time warp. “Chlorine Blue” starts pastoral and then builds up to the vocals until it is a throbbing wall of sound. I can not make out the lyrics on “Cannibalism Next Door” but it barely matters as organ and percussion set the stage for what can only be described as an industrial ritual chant. The final track is “Part-Time Assholes” and, despite the weird title, is a memorable post-rock symphonic poem. While this album is too brief to be more than a first course, I have to admit I went away with very satisfied ears.
The album is available as a free download from their web site in 192kbps MP3. If you enjoy the music, support the artists by buying their CDs.
Adolf Plays The Jazz is an instrumental band from Athens, Greece. Despite their cryptic name, you will find no jazz here. Instead you will find densely arranged post rock lightly peppered with samples and dialogue. Their six albums, with five of them being featured here, are as good as anything you with find in instrumental rock.
Stealth EP is their 2008 release. “Nothing to Lose” starts almost industrial yet develops into a freely flowing soundscape of multiple tones and a ethereal melody. “Nameless” has a beautiful piano solo mixed in a soft electronic environment. APTJ appears more interested in atmosphere than flashy musicianship and for the most part it is a wise move.
Day 4 Urban Fiction is a full album that starts with a jolt. Blasting guitars and a cynic dialogue makes this a more tense experience than what was experienced on the album mentioned before. It may be too jolting from some. However the mood calms down quickly with “Terminal”, a quiet tune at first but also developing with some disquieting themes. “Norman Bates” could be called a personality study. There something sinister in this track as should be for a song named after the world’s most famous motel manager. This album is a bit more tense than the first but that makes it a more interesting listen, in my opinion.
The three EPs Melt, Cognac or Brandy, and Muzzle The Birds round out the five picks. The overall feel is pretty much the same; nice melodies swamped with dense soundscapes. The musical talent may be, as I previously said, not flashy but the musicianship of these artists remains impeccable throughout. I especially like “Over The Hill” on Melt, “Frank Zappa Needs Haircut” plus “Sad Story” on Muzzle The Birds, and the 11 minutes “Beerla” on Cognac and Brandy which almost qualifies it as a jam. If anything, I would like to occasionally see these musicians in an session a bit less structured as they clearly have the chops.
Cognac and Brandy is available in 128kbps MP3. Melt, Muzzle The Birds, and Day 4 Urban Fiction is 192kbps MP3 while Stealth is at a healthy 256kbps. There is also a sixth album titled Art Brokolo but I could not get it to download from the inexorable Zshare (lose the Zshare, guys). I’m sure it is as good as the others but until I hear it I can’t recommend it. Nonetheless the other five albums will give you plenty of enjoyable listening.
I Am The The Architect mixes post-rock, shoegaze and classical into a sound that is just a little different than most of the instrumental post-rock groups that crowd the internet. Their album is simply titled 11 and is available from the Lost Children net label. While they certainly have their share of blaring guitars and massive chords, the artists also exhibit a calmer classical side that makes this a very interesting band. “Quit” exhibits this quieter side at the beginning of this well structured work leaving the full out assault for the conclusion. All four tracks are well planned and well executed. I listen to a lot of post-rock groups but this is one of the few albums that survived several listens with each one revealing something new.
The album is available in 192kbps MP3.
I love to hear new albums by artists that I reviewed earlier in this blog, especially when my words were favorable but somewhat tentative as they were for Part Rocket’s first two albums. I certainly wouldn’t be so naive to think that any artist cared about what I said but it appears Part Rocket spent some time in the woodshed, so to speak. Their newest effort In Limine is more structured and focused. The instrumental band favors a post rock approach that is slowly developed with a “less is more” mentality. This works well on the five tracks especially with “Cut Short by The Whip” whose casual and meandering themes still manages to hold a lot of tension. At 8 minutes, “Tambora Blankets The Earth” is the longest and most interesting. Starting with a sustaining chord it phases into slow melodies that flows over the dischord. This band is starting to show some serious chops. Recommended to any one who enjoys the instrumental music of post-rock artists like Mogwai and Explosions in The Sky.
The album is available in 320MP3.
The progressive / post-rock Loss of a Child has already released three free online albums of their impressive if often over busy performances. The fourth album is Hundred Million Angels and, like the others, is released by the experimental rock netlabel Lost Children. Unlike the other albums, Hundred Million Angels is one 2o minute track It allows the artists to explore and expand their ideas yet provides the needed structure and focus of an extended composition that is missing on the previous efforts. I find it to be their best work to date. If you have not heard this band this is a good place to start. If you have, you will definitely want to download this new work.
The album is available in 256kbps MP3.
I’m a bit of a Johnny-Come-Lately on this free and legal musical treat. A lot of blogs have said some nice things about it and they are well deserved. The German post-rock group Hermelin have a full-bodied sound delivering these somewhat miminalist melodies. Moody and intelligent, their self-titled album is best listened to in a single sitting to experience the full and lingering power of the nine instrumental tracks.
The album is available as either separate tracks or album zip in 256kbps MP3.
Canon Blue plays a haunting combination of ambient mixed with indie rock. The all too brief EP titled Halcyon is essentially a 17 minute, 4 track sampler of their music. The title track teases with a lush drone then breaks into a lilting melody. “Ennui” is my favorite song. It is the best showcase for the band’s soft vocals and harmony. There is an unmistakable Brian Wilson influence on this tune. “Avatar Furr” and the instrumental “Kingfisher Sweet” wraps up this short but beautiful album. Halcyon EP is a strong effort and a promising look at a talented band’s future.
The EP is available from their Myspace site in an album zip of 192kbps MP3. If you like the music support the artists by buying their debut album Colonies
Mandelbrot Set is an instrumental rock trio that pack a punch. Sometimes sounding like Mogwai and sometimes emulating what I can only call a heavy metal drone, the band offers a densely layered sound that can really settle into your mind. If you need to have genre then post-rock, experimental, math rock, and noise rock all comes to mind.
heir debut album, All Our Actions Are Constantly Repeated comes from the Highpoint Lowlife record label and can be freely downloaded off of their Last.fm page in 128kbps MP3. The six tracks tends to be moody soundscapes alternating between the dreamy and the ultra-sonic. The band members tend to be more interested in the overall effect than individual flashiness, a strong point in this type of music. This is a good debut and a recommended listen to those who like their rock heavy and serious.
And remember. Enjoyed the music? Support the artist by buying the CD!
No longer freely available
Belgian musician Vincent Girès creates music under the name Silence. He has two albums freely available through a Creative Common license.
L’autre endroit exhibits a sound that mixes trip hop, ambient and industrial. The opening track has a clear Massive Attack influence. The rest of the album is a bit more cerebral and a little dark. I especially like the haunting “Particule”. Other good tracks include “Realite” and “Efface”.
Encre is a just a little lighter and definitely more beat conscious. “Pollution” is one of the more industrial tracks while “Mort” harks back to the Renaissance. There is more variety on this album but the dark atmosphere is still present.
Both albums are available from Jamendo in 192kbps MP3 from this page or you can download the albums via The Internet Archive from the links below in VBR MP3, FLAC, or Ogg Vorbis format.
Download
L’autre endroit
Encre
Savium has just released his second album titled Phlegm Not Sentient. Like the first album, it is loosely in the metal, progressive, post-rock genres. There appears to be more experimentation and variety in this outing. I still like the guitar centered rock tracks like “Into The Light From Tyrone Eve” and “Pensive” the best but other songs such as the electro ear candy “Pheromone Queen” and a post-rock “An Offer For Comfort” exhibits other sides of this talented musician. If you like Mogwai and Tortoise you should enjoy Savium.
The album is available as separate tracks or a album zip in 192kbps MP3.
Loss of a Child have released their third album. Adam and Eve is more of the post-rock / progressive rock that was featured on their first and second albums, all on the excellent Lost Children netlabel. The band continues to exhibit an interesting merger of traditional rock instrumentation with strings but a harder rock sound is emerging. Those who enjoyed the first two albums will also enjoy this one while those who are into post-rock and progressive rock will find Adam and Eve well worth the listen.
The album is available as separate tracks or a full album zip in 192kbps MP3.
A Beautiful Machine is usually classified as post-rock or space rock. Nonetheless, whenever I hear this other worldly music I think of Buddhist chants. There’s something almost spiritual about these soundscapes; music for a monastery on the edge of the universe.
There are four free and legal albums from A Beautiful Machine. Each is a journey into the cosmos. s/t is their first album. It is a meditative dream until the last two tracks when “Glow” erupts into a sonic explosion and “Coming Up Again” end in mid-tempo optimism. Solar Wind, White Noise, Antigravity is truer to the post-rock vision with more beats, clearer vocals, and reverberating guitars. Solar Variants is a collection of remixes. Their 2007 release is Home. By both titles and sound, this is the most conceptual of the albums. The music is harder and more rock oriented. It is also the most realized of the four and the one I would recommend the most. There’s a fine balance between the rock aspect and the almost spiritual sensation I mentioned earlier. The title track is a good example of this; 8 minutes of dark but beautiful tension between instruments and vocals. The other tracks are of the same good quality.
The albums are available from the Internet Archives in either MP3 or Ogg Vorbis format.
Download
Home
Solar Winds, White Noise, Antigravity
s/t
Solar Variants
French Teen Idol is a solo project out of Rome, Italy from Andrea Di Carlo. His music is strongly in the post-rock camp with influences from bands such as Mogwai, and God is an Astronaut. There is a strange and beautiful synthesis going on that melds together bits of rock, electronic, and ambient. Sometimes calming, sometimes disquieting, Teen French Idol makes for some very interesting listening.
Two albums are currently available as free downloads. The first album is self-titled and available from the Nishi netlabel. The first track sets the formula; keyboards and string-like electronic in a repeating melody adding keyboard and string-like electronics in an emotional crescendo. It is a simple formula that works well in Di Carlo’s hands. “Your Fault” is an especially good example of the enjoyable tension Teen French Idol is capable of.
The sophomore album Enlightened False Consciousness is released by Lost Children. The orchestral patterns with building tension continues but the atmosphere leans toward moody and slightly dark. This album is even more dream inducing. The title track and “The Longest Night” are two of the best tracks.
Both albums are available in 192kbps MP3.
Yesterday I featured a classic work by Olivier Messiaen, who also had a reputation as an ornithologist. I thought it might be a good time to introduce you to the post-rock band Transit, whose only real tie to Messiaen is that the group consists of three ornithologists.
Leaving the birdies aside, Transit has a rather casual sound for a post-rock group. Their first album. Broadleaves vs Conifers involves lanquid and pastoral lines such as on “Pilot’s Handbook” and “Long Song”. When the tension does builds, such as on “Matacabras”, the artists are able to move into Mogwai territory and still keep their own individualism. My favorite track is the beautiful “Reflections on the Asfalt” (what’s an asfalt?).
The three track Harmattan is a brief but continually interesting exploration into their music. It consists of two slightly extended versions of “Long Song” and “Mattoral”, both also on the first album, and “Maza”. The best track is “Maza”, a melodic treat that ends with a punch. The 19 minutes Harmattan is brief but, with three strong tracks, it makes a good introduction to this interesting post-rock band.
Both albums are available from the Lost Children netlabel. Broadleaves vs. Conifers is in 256kbps MP3 while Harmattan is in 192kbps.
Download
Broadleaves vs Conifers
Harmattan
I am tempted to define the music of Colophon as instrumentral Emo. Certainly the first track, “The Reassuring Glow of Streetlights” bring this to mind with its brooding organ solo. It’s a fine track for the times you are feeling sorry for yourself. Fortunately there is more to this post-rock group than emotional self-obsessiveness. The title track opens up into a Tortoise style tone poem with guitar, sitar and just enough glitches to sooth you before waking you up with a pounding ending. “NYC From a Distance” is downright happy compared to the first two tracks. Finally the 11 minute “G by Freefall” is a lengthy track that rides the fence between rock and electronica. A little post-rock, a little nu-jazz, a little down-tempo, and a lot of originality all combine to make this album a very enjoyable listen.
The album is available through the Internet Archives as individual tracks or album zip in 192kbps MP3.
Through most of Place You Trust In Empty Places, Johnny Poindexter inhabits a intense dream/nightmare world. The six piece band plays music from a post-rock purgatory; bleak and dark with torturous but mesmerizing harmonics. Jamie Sidebottom’s vocals are almost afterthoughts as he practically chants in “Headswim” and “Madeline” while the more upbeat “We Meet By Accident” pairs a New Order-like refrain with Jesus and Mary Chain walls of sounds. Most of the tracks are firmly in the shoe-gaze arena. This is a good solid effort by a promising new band.
The album is available as separate tracks or full albums zip in 128kbps MP3.
Part Rocket is another instrumental indie rock band who appears to model themselves after such stalwarts as Mogwai, Tortoise, and Explosions in the Sky. Their sound is still a little rough but there are a lot of good ideas and musicianship on these two online albums.
The six tracks on Good Morning Satellite favors simple melodies that are slowly embellished and developed. For instance “Oloudah Equiano” features a repetitious guitar line while bass, drums, and keyboards build on the tension. The first untitled track does something similar but with a decidedly metal sound. The last track, “A Simple Case of Mistaken Identity” is a good sample track as it is a capsule of many of Part Rocket ideas including contrasting dynamics, long developing lines and post-rock effects.
Their second album is Kneel Before The Throne And Drink The Blood of Your Own. It has only two tracks of about 10 minutes each. The long tracks help the band develop their ideas thoroughly making this a more satisfying listen. “Midnight is Some Burning Tower” is a slow jam building on a simple bass line. “Cosby, Bills, and Cash” exudes a trance-like, almost psychedelic environment. The two albums presents a very promising start for this young band.
Good Morning Satellite is available in 192kbps MP3 while Kneel is in 224kps MP3. Beside the two albums, you will find a few more single tracks that you might want to check out.
The web magazine Silent Ballet and the Lost Children netlabel has developed an unique project of web album anthologies showcasing post-rock bands. The first two are now available and they present a variety of instrumental rock bands playing atmospheric and thought provoking music.
The two Silent Ballet compilations features a total of 22 artists from a variety of independent labels, all playing music in the post-rock style that encompasses intense guitar lines, a hypnotic and sometimes droning sound, and a focus on musicianship that tends to art rather than pop. To a certain point this creates a sameness in sound especially as you listen to these two albums nonstop. Nonetheless, the artists exhibit an immense amount of skill and knowledge in their chosen genre. Volume 1 has a number of bands that captured my interest including Caspian, Neil on Impression, Foxhole (who exhibits a uncanny Tortoise-like ability to fuse rock and jazz), and an industrial sounding Once We Were. Also notable is Yndi Halda’s “We Flood Empty Lakes” with its hypnotic melody accented by blips and bleeps plus “Calneva Drive” by Theta Naught with its cello driven drone and nicely building tension.
Volume 2 continues with eleven more fine post-rock artists. Magyar Posse starts with “Intercontinental Hustle”, a seven minute overture of cinematic proportions. The Ascent of Everest features the only vocal of the collection but it barely whispers and is best seen as just one part of a haunting collage. All Angel Gone’s “(Stephen H.)” is an atypically pastorale track of strings and piano. Other outstanding contributions are by From The Sky, Atlantis, Gifts From Enola, and Capulet with a 10 minute epic closer.
All tracks from Volume one are is in 256kbps MP3 while Volume two is in 192kbps. As you find artists you enjoy, check out their websites and consider purchasing their CDs. In other words, enjoy the music? Support the artist!
Download
The Silent Ballet: Volume 1
The Silent Ballet: Volume 2
Claus M. Hansen creates instrumental rock and pop under the name of Savium. He has one online album available and it is titled Inane and Serene. While he cites Mogwai and Tortoise as influences, his music is more upbeat and accessible than either band. With an arsenal of guitars, keyboards, and computer, he turns out music that nicely balances a melodic beauty and the high energy of heavy metal. These are tightly structured but short pieces with only two tracks being over 4 minutes. Representative tracks include the jaunty “Animus Girl”and her playful brother “Amiable Boy”, a stalking and predatorial “Inane and Vast”, and the atypically mournful closing track, “Chimera”.
The album is available by either separate tracks or full zip in 192kbps MP3.
The Consolation Project created a moody monster of a EP that echoes the gothic overtones of past groups like The Cult, The Cure and Love and Rockets. The electronic influence is mindful of the more recent Faint. Vocalist Ron Cavagnaro is a very passionate singer and the lyrics can really dig into your emotions. The first track, “Nothing”, is a good place to start as it shows off all the strengths of this group. I wouldn’t recommend it for a date (unless your date is Vampira) but The Consolation Project plays excellent rock music for serious listening.
The album is available in VBR MP3.
Download
Sonores describes their music as” a soundtrack to a dream”. Sonores must have very beautiful dreams. The group consists of three members who choose to go by their first names. Elisabet’s contributes delicate vocals , Viktor handles the electronic end, and the composer and primary instrumentalist is Jonas.
The main problem with their self-titled EP is that it is too brief. At not quite 14 minutes, there isn’t enough room for the listener to become truly immersed in the heady sound stew that Sonores cooks up. Elizabeth vocals are like thin wisps of smoke while Victor and Jonas’ melodic lines are haunting and meditative. My favorite track, “Jonathon” would fit comfortably in a David Lynch film. In fact, those who remember the Twin Peaks score by Badalamenti will have a good idea of how this music sounds.
I try to present EPs and albums that are at least 15 minutes and over. This one is too good to ignore even it is doesn’t quite reach the time requirement. Let’s hope Sonores follows up with a longer album so I can really lose myself in their dreams.
The EP is available by separate tracks or album zip in either VBR or 64kbps MP3. The separate tracks are also available as Ogg Vorgis format.
Note: Jonas has informed me that their new CD Elefanten is out and available for purchase. If you enjoyed the EP support the artists and buy the CD.
