A Distorted Reality.

Labourious and pretentious are probably the two most oft used adjectives in the description of post-rock, and, in spite of my love the genre, I’d probably agree with the two synopses. However, I would not do so with the terms taking a negative connotation. Sure, it may be a little hard to listen to at first try, but this effort is surely rewarded by the wonderful complexity in the sounds: rising and falling dynamics and changing tempos making for interesting listening. The ignorant would bemoan the (general, there are exceptions) lack of vocals as making the music soulless and void of emotion: these people could not be more wrong. There is more of a connection between instrumentalist and instrument to compensate for the lack of overt emotional expression through vocals. Besides, in the current day of heavy post-production on vocals, who knows what genuine sung emotion sounds like? It’s not pitch-perfect, I can tell you that now.

Al Young’s Top 5 Post-Rock Bands (and I’m probably going to be painfully obvious with some of my choices)

1. Red Sparowes - From the ashes of Neurosis, Isis, Halifax Pier, Angel Hair and Pleasure Forever (all genuinely wicked-cool post-rock/post-metal/experimental bands in their own rights) rose the body of Red Sparowes. I’ll admit that my discovery of them was through a less than cool means: a Rock Sound sampler CD was my first introduction to their sound, but it was the sole track Alone and Unaware, the Landscape Was Transformed In Front of Our Eyes (now do you see where the ‘pretentious’ billing comes from?) which prompted me to buy the album At the Soundless Dawn. And God, that was an amazing album. It had everything, truly everything: pedal-steel, cowbell, tremolo picking, innovative lead parts. The 2008 album Every Heart Shines towards the Red Sun was something that I knew that I was going to have to get: it was instrumental music written about the Great Leap Forward (oh, and we welcome, once again, the good friend we have in pretension).
2. Envy (mostly post-All The Footprints You’ve Ever Left And The Fear Expecting Ahead, but some earlier material does have post-rock nuances) - They were known most notably for being the kings of the hardcore/screamo scene in Japan prior to their divergence into a more experimental sound, and they did do that well. The 7-minute-48-second long A Warm Room starts with the subtle strumming of an electric guitar and softly spoken vocals and develops into a veritable wall of noise: layered guitars and screamed vocals. All of their songs have this incomprehensible characteristic of sounding heavy but being incredibly easy to listen to. It must be some sort of Japanese magic.
   Now, I did mention a thoroughly long album title next to the name of the band: I don’t think that this is characteristic pretension, just a case of awful Japanese to English tranlsation.
3. Maybeshewill - They’re Birmingham based. I have to love them. However, beyond any sense of duty, they do impress me: Not for Want of Trying is the special kind of danceable heavy: prominent bassline with an almost playful guitar line. The Paris Hilton Sex Tapes has the on-off guitar dynamic so prevalent in the genre, and part of what makes this breed of musicians interesting to listen to. I’m in Awe Amadeus is more a display of their percussionist’s prowess than anything else, but it definitely fulfils its aim there.
4. The Pax Cecilia - I will instantly respect any band which gives away its CDs for free worldwide, and I will respect even more those bands whose material would be worthy of paying mainstream record shop prices. I will love those bands who include amazing cover art and lyrics booklets in said free CDs. Basically, I love The Pax Cecilia. The album, I’ll admit, took a while to grow on me: the shift from earlier piano and strings led songs into the grittier, Isis-esque material of the meat of the album took a while for me to get used to, but this period of adaptation was more than worth it. The lyrics were a little bit awesome as well:
   

   and those flames devour all!

   we fear not the flood, we fear not the drought
   we fear not the peak, nor the valley ensuing

   we do not fear the song
   we only fear its end
   we only fear its consummation

   when we were young
   our mothers looked with our eyes
   out and over everything
   oh, those wide fields of tall wheat
   and, oh, those busy streets

   wet with the night,
   and bright! with traffic lights
   how they mean to inspire
   how they mean to tell of a firm stand against time,
   to tell the children that their lights can never fade,
   and the words we heard our father’s speak
   were a thread so sweet
   it is covered in ants, still strung over our heads, across this land

   but now, such strange fates!
   our dearest sweetest hope has died,
   how lovingly she held us as we slept
   how motherly she cupped those tired hands over our waking eyes,
   how she has grown so still, pouring softly the tears that we cry.

   soon, friends, you most bury her in your chests as i have in mine
   and rise, rise, rise, rise
   for though the moments press now on our heels and households like the waves,
   with a fearful vigil, we have turned to face the coming tides
   only to find that such oceans have dried

   oh fates, you were so unwise!
   if our mothers have taught us anything, it is that there is no shame in a fading light
   but instead, a pale worldly beauty
   so be tired, good children
   be tired, but be strong, in a word: persevere
   for the dimmer the light, the longer it shines when we are gone.

5. Godspeed You! Black Emperor - Probably one of the more prolific (even though now defunct) post-rock bands, their music really was a case of stories through the medium of lyricless song. They toyed with experimental sounds with careless abandon and it really did add a lot to their music, both through differentiation from other similar artists and separation from the wearisome straight-up, no-alterations-for-anyone guitar, bass and drum formula so in Vogue now as it has always been. Urgency coupled with calmer moments was the only thing which could have been considered formulaic about their music, and they often challenged that assumption.

I can’t wait for Supersonic 2008: Red Sparowes awaits.