All Those Post-Rock Type Bands I've Never Heard Of That Made Those 2007 Year-End Lists

first up is *Panther Attack*. They put out their Martyr Bonus album all by their lonesome. Great cover too:

http://www.bitmunk.com/view/image/6968501

Okay, that was really big. Even for me. Here is their myspace:

http://www.myspace.com/pantherattack

I'm listening to "The Party Never Started" right now. Albini-esque production. Or maybe Albini production. Power trio. Not bad! There have been a lot of bands who have gone this route, and it is hard to remember all their names.

next is *Bosques De Mi Mente*. Another good cover:

http://img.jamendo.com/albums/6413/covers/1.0.jpg

I think I knew about 8 bands out of almost 100 on those lists, and the Battles record is the only one I'd heard. Thats because I own it. Cool album covers. It's nice to see people trying again.

Eluvium fans would like the Bosques album. Minimal piano stuff from Spain:

http://www.myspace.com/bosquesdemimente

(I like it a lot. Or what I've heard anyway on-line.)

next up is *North*:

http://www.decoymusic.com/vb/gas/images/5/north-ruins.jpg

from a decoymusic review:

"The title Ruins fits this EP very well, as this album reminds me of a soundtrack to a dying planet with its melancholy dark side, and out lash of angelic and aggressive climaxes."

I smell Godspeed!

and one listen to their myspace provides the Isis/Pelican goods:

http://www.myspace.com/northistaken

and on to *Omega Massif*. Another great cover:

http://metalarea.org/covers/2fd944e34a737ad1571cb236c8d15c5e.jpg

Omega Massif make cool doomy metallic stuff. i love their myspace quote:

"We would not play faster if we could."

http://www.myspace.com/omegamassif

The Bosques De Mi Mente cover is very "local band rack at the CD store circa July 1999"

*The American Dollar*

http://soundaslanguage.files.wordpress.com/2007/03/americandollar2.jpg

old video that is nice and dreamy:

http://youtube.com/watch?v=DSxAFybgYWA

from the new album:

http://youtube.com/watch?v=4ghIfbizOoQ

you think? i think the photography is better than that.

x-post

My hometown had an arts college, maybe we were spoiled.

*Tunturia* - Maps

another self-released album. seems to have had two covers? guess which one I like better:

http://www.decoymusic.com/vb/gas/images/5/tunturia.jpg

http://bp0.blogger.com/_D8k0j2oa8Gg/RpJ6hLjQKbI/AAAAAAAAAcY/HTJL2V6zKLA/s320/maps_cover.jpg

anyway, Tunturia are from Canada and they do the post-rock instro shuffle:

http://www.myspace.com/tunturia

live tunturia! watch them move a little!

http://youtube.com/watch?v=mati_54_Lm8

*Redhooker* - The Future According To Yesterday

http://cdbaby.name/r/e/redhooker.jpg

cd baby blurb:

"The music on the debut recording of Redhooker was written in a vacated accident-injury law office 700 feet above ground in downtown Manhattan. The music was inspired by a year spent living in a quiet, isolated former port village called Red Hook. The stark contrast of these two environments yields a four piece program that is spacious but dark, dense yet fluid, cautious while extreme. A solo clarinet trails a lone violin creating long swaths of gossamer dissonance while a Rhodes quietly spins out its ostinato. An electric guitar enters the mix as the group embarks on a repetitive but contrapuntally rich dance. When the computer enters, it brings with it a monolithic drone – a composite of acoustic voices collected earlier, blended to reveal rich overtones that take on lives of their own. Gradually the acoustic instruments reenter, singing long lamenting lines vaguely reminiscent of 16th century choral polyphony, while the drone recedes to a role as foundation, and guides the players through the completion of their walk."

redhooker myspace:

http://www.myspace.com/redhooker

i like the redhooker stuff okay. philip glass music for emo kids? or is that mean? or reductive? whatever. it's nice music.

*And So I Watch You from Afar* - This is Our Machine and Nothing Can Stop It

http://a804.ac-images.myspacecdn.com/images01/28/l_2fad567225972eb8eff35f5489de074b.jpg

from Belfast Ireland

http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendID=41645007

*The Bird Ensemble*

http://bp3.blogger.com/_9rPK3C8upDA/R1XMSgqmWWI/AAAAAAAAB-Y/Ge6_lXyHlJs/s1600/204857126.jpg

http://www.myspace.com/thebirdensemble

http://bp3.blogger.com/_toxCbHHY9MA/RvOVMMjKKhI/AAAAAAAAANc/kLmhlLM-PM4/s1600/R-1066884-1189551196.jpeg

http://www.myspace.com/saddlebackmusic

"As well as recording many Australian bands and solo artists (including Holly Throsby, the Woods Themselves, Jack Ladder and Joseph Leonard) Tony Dupé creates music as Saddleback- named after the mountain on the south coast of NSW he once called home. Primarily a solo project with occasional guests, Saddleback has released two albums to date: 2004's critically acclaimed "Everything's A Love Letter" and a second album, "Night Maps" (now available through Preservation Records, distributed nationally by Inertia). As its title suggests, "Night Maps" has a darker sense of beauty than its predecessor; sounds push and pull against each other, then unite into a mysterious force that is by turns desolate, fragile, visceral and translucent. These abstracted orchestrations featuring guitar, strings, woodwinds, brass, percussion and electronic textures work in the cracks between jazz, folk, post-rock and classical, claiming a space between dark and light, both shimmering and haunting."

*World's End Girlfriend* - Hurtbreak Wonderland

http://www.humanhighwayrecords.com/release/images/artwork/hhr42_400.jpg

http://www.myspace.com/worldsendgirlfriend

world's end girlfriend has 0 friends on myspace! he beats me. i have 1 friend.

http://www.storyboardlabel.com/uploaded_images/PFA-cover-small-759522.jpg

http://www.myspace.com/peopleforaudio

http://youtube.com/watch?v=pNLwQedLL_8

i like that people for audio video/song. they have a singer! i mean, he can really sing!

i'll be back. need more pie.

I love the way that post-rock has turned into this niche genre, like rockabilly or prog. Message boards where bands are referred to by acronyms (EITS, DMST or whatever), people being accused of betraying the scene, the works! I guess post-rock is the new goth.

I like that People for Audio album a lot, actually.

the omega massif album is great. the EITS, DMST and Scraps Of Tape albums were really good too.

Martyr Bonus is a good name for an album.

Best thread of the year. (And might well remain so.)

i've never heard most of these bands and I'm ON this list

*jatun* - s/t

http://www.decoymusic.com/images/missedalbums/jatun.jpg

from tonevendor:

"Lush, enveloping and hyper-textured, Jatun's songs blanket themselves around your ears and saturate your head with warm and intoxicating, Orange-tinged tones. For Fans Of: Morr Music, 4AD, Warp, Anticon, Temporary Residence Limited."

mmmm, chilly chill:

http://www.myspace.com/jatun

*carta* - the glass bottom boat

ooh, they fancy, they are on a label with an advertising budget:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v653/andy-s/carta-advert.jpg

i only say that because i'm a little surprised by how many of these bands self-distribute or have "artist-run" labels. a la godspeed, i guess. i haven't spent so much time on cd baby since a chuck eddy metal thread post.

you can hear snippets on their website:
http://theglassbottomboat.com/music.html

*swod* - sekunden

http://www.boomkat.com/media/stock_images/TBCD041_Cover.jpg

dreamy german duo stuff with piano:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sl3k-CopLkk

our label (Resonant) just went tits up actually, but I don't think that ad broke them. The face shots were not my idea.

*battles* - mirrored

right, liked this a bunch. one of my fave drummers. and it's a FUN album. it's goofy, you know. it has charm. so, i can see why people would be raving about it.

"atlas" live in rome 2007:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZKNS8yzFXNM

hahahaha, oops!

x-post

er, not laughing at the label going under. just that the one time i mention a label and money on here...

*Red Light Chamber Choir* - We're in Trouble but We Don't Know What to Do

http://www.decoymusic.com/vb/gas/images/5/redlight.jpg

from decoy music:

"The genre of post-rock first emerged in the mid-90s when bands like Bark Psychosis and Disco Inferno began deconstructing the building blocks of rock and pop. Though the genre was founded by this spirit of experimentation, its popularity of late has resulted in a waning of originality due to many bands who are content with regurgitation. This shouldn’t really be a surprise though; every genre sets sail on its own unique path, but is eventually engulfed by a sea of imposters. However, you can argue here that post-rock is not like any other genre, simply for the fact that it’s innately marked by its originality and experimentation.

This argument has lead to the biggest debate amongst the genre’s patrons - originality vs. execution: which is more important? Now 8 out of 10 times, I myself would probably choose execution over originality, mainly for the reason that these albums are generally more emotionally demanding. Don’t get me wrong, I enjoy and appreciate bands that are completely cutting edge like Battles and Silencio, but to be honest, I find them rather heartless. Bands that can combine the two are obviously markedly important.

Now cue in redlightchamberchoir (Red Light Chamber Choir,) who is a six piece band from my now favorite city to pronounce, Ypsilanti, Michigan, who play a brand of classically infused post-rock. RLCC is a prime example of the execution sector of the genre. Their debut album we’reintroublebutwedon’tknowwhattod o (that’s We’re In Trouble But We Don’t Know What To Do) is a very well-executed work of traditional post-rock. From an originality standpoint, there isn’t too much on this album that hasn’t been done before - a lot of the album is reminiscent of genre figureheads like Godspeed You! Black Emperor (minus the 5 minutes of light static and political rants) and Mogwai. However, from an execution standpoint, this album is pretty ace. RLCC has entirely mastered the traditional post-rock formula and has put their own slight touch on it."

http://www.myspace.com/redlightchamberchoir

*japancakes* - loveless

i've heard of this band! maria had one of their albums. pretty good from what i remember.

http://i217.photobucket.com/albums/cc33/simrich/l_fcf2aaccca979dd537e898f1eca7f14b.jpg

anyway, just in case you missed it, loveless is mbv's loveless as done by japancakes.

http://www.myspace.com/japancakesmusic

if i chose a band from athens georgia to cover loveless, i might have chosen harvey milk instead. although japancakes make pretty versions and all.

holy fuck count as post-rock?

and loomer is pretty friggin' beautiful!

don't care for this cover:

http://www.darla.com/images/product/p12372.JPG

http://www.myspace.com/lightsoutasia

i'm actually digging the sennen myspace stuff. they heart ride.

http://img179.imageshack.us/img179/531/covercopyblackbackbo7.jpg

http://www.myspace.com/bewareofsafety

worst shirt:

http://img252.imageshack.us/img252/561/greenfullwbackdesigncopun9.jpg

http://www.myspace.com/bewareofsafety

Explosions in the Sky - All of a Sudden I Miss Everyone

man, i got a copy of this album so long ago it feels like a 90's release. and i'm just not a fan. sorry. they have underwhelmed me at every turn. i'll bet they are GREAT folks and i would have a lot of fun with them at a b-b-q, but i'll leave their tunes to others.

every beware of safety song is a crawler. mr.mono mountain-climbing territory. zzzzzzzzzz....

*do make say think* - you, you're a history in rust

http://www.cstrecords.com/cst_images/covers/cst045hires.jpg

http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendid=43842679

http://www.decoymusic.com/images/missedalbums/pirateship.jpg

http://www.myspace.com/thepirateshipquintet

http://www.thepirateshipquintet.co.uk/

http://www.almostcool.org/mr/art/1969

http://www.myspace.com/holyfuck

http://www.tulsadrone.com/img/TD_MS_coverart_600.jpg

http://www.myspace.com/tulsadrone

i like that holy fuck stuff. are they post-rock? i dunno, they sound like krautrock at times. and krautrock was pre-post-rock-post-rock.

http://www.rockmydays.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/08/Visuel%20GRAILS.jpg

tulsa drone isn't really my bag.

grails sounds nice. i thought i got everything from temp res, but i don't remember getting their latest album.

grails album is excellent.

http://www.thirtyghostsrecords.com/images/Cue%20Wedding%20Song.gif

http://www.myspace.com/cueaustin

yeah i might have to get that

x-post

*frail by design* - EP

http://www.decoymusic.com/vb/gas/images/5/frailbydesign.jpg

http://www.myspace.com/frailbydesign

"post-rockin' the suburbs since 2003."

traditional post-rock

Someone needs to let Simon Reynolds know about this. Are any of these bands influenced by Tortoise? They used to be the definition of post-rock (along with Ui), but not any more I guess.

*efterklang* - under giant trees

http://ec1.images-amazon.com/images/P/B000MQ4XPU.01._SS500_SCLZZZZZZZ_.jpg

http://www.myspace.com/efterklang

oh dear (xpost)

i would like to say that the first time I ever learned about 90% of these bands was after they were listed as 'similar' on our last.fm profile and I was like, 'who the fuck?' since none of them had influenced us. i really had no idea there was so much stuff like this being released. some of it is excellent, some of it is dire, just like anything else i guess. but as a result our next album is going to be quite a bit different because I don't want anyone to think that we're trying to postrock the suburbs.

the efterklang album is brilliant btw

http://balmorheamusic.com/stcover.gif

http://balmorheamusic.com/

from decoy music:

Balmorhea is without a doubt the biggest surprise in 2007. In a genre full distortion, delay, and pure catastrophic noise, Balmorhea serve up a heartfelt offering of short little pieces composed of primarily a piano and an acoustic guitar; sometimes playing together, often times not. Listening to Balmorhea is like watching a black and white video of your youth; every strike of a piano key evoking a memory, each guitar chord reinvigorating a youthful smile. There isn’t much else to say about this record; the record itself says it all.

Rating: 4/5
RIYL: Sumner Mckane, Max Richter, Rachel’s, Eluvium

yeah, i'm digging the efterklang stuff on myspace.

http://www.myspace.com/balmorhea

http://festiforo.blogspot.es/img/joy_wants_eternity-you_who_pretend_to_sleep.jpg

http://www.myspace.com/joywantseternity

http://www.ondarock.it/images/cover/copia.jpg

i heart eluvium. nuff said.

oh and joy wants eternity are godmonogwaidiveattack territory.

*giants* - they, the undeserving

http://img394.imageshack.us/img394/6003/folderkp2.jpg

http://www.myspace.com/giantsmusic

http://www.rjominn.is/images/1171406556.jpg

http://www.myspace.com/olafurarnalds

really pretty. indie modern classical? whatever.

"Ólafur is just 20 years old, hails from the suburbian town Mosfellsbær, just a few kilometers out of Reykjavík. Besides his soloproject, Ólafur plays drums in two hardcore bands, Fighting Shit and Celestine, and he also plays piano, banjo, guitar and drums in his friend’s soloproject, My Summer as a Salvation Soldier. His first solo album, “Eulogy for Evolution”, has been highly praised by the media and local music fans in Iceland and has already created quite a buzz around Europe and even all the way to Japan despite several delays of it’s release. The album is finally being released in Europe, USA and Japan by Progression Records and in the UK by Erased Tapes Records in autumn 2007"

*immanu el* - they'll come they'll come

http://www.inpartmaint.com/thomason/thomason_image/TSIP2021_242.gif

http://www.myspace.com/immanuelband

http://youtube.com/watch?v=puMDYwEu8d0

http://img87.imageshack.us/img87/9617/destructioncovervu5.jpg

http://www.myspace.com/11488230

these guys are kind of famous, right? i know i've heard of them, but i don't think i've ever heard their music.

http://www.suicidesqueeze.net/highres/6x7/s052_6x7_cover.jpg

http://www.myspace.com/sixpartsseven

Stars of the Lid
Stars of the Lid and Their Refinement of the Decline

right, you guys are on top of this one. i bought a copy! still haven't made it to the second disc, but i will, by gum!

Johnnytwentythree
JXXIII

http://triggerhappytraitor.com/artwork/j23.gif

http://www.myspace.com/j23music

http://i28.photobucket.com/albums/c229/corbanirby/Front-webpreview.jpg

http://www.myspace.com/ourstoalibi

http://dot.cult.bg/notitle/wp/wp-content/uploads/landpatterns.jpg

http://www.myspace.com/theworldonhigherdowns

i enjoy clicking on two myspace pages at the same time in different windows and creating postrock mashups. don't tell anyone.

the world on higher downs stuff is pretty cool:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Riwp_6xsCJE

http://img169.imageshack.us/img169/3379/copyfrontsmallai4.jpg

http://www.myspace.com/scrapsoftape

*caspian* - the four trees

http://www.decoymusic.com/vb/gas/images/5/caspian.jpg

http://www.myspace.com/caspiantheband

caspian were the number one album on that rateyourmusic list! and they are from beverly mass! i haven't listened yet. had to put on the new Isole album. which is great, by the way. but not post-rock. epic doom metal. and i probably like it more than anything i've heard on here. but i like a lot of stuff i've heard on here. especially the more electronic/ambient/semi-classical stuff. i am an electoacoustic buff.

i'll have to leave that silent ballet list for later. see what differs on there.

this has been a public service announcement.

You'd think that most post-rock bands would be sick of themselves by now.

yikes, i think i see 23 different albums on that silent ballet list that didn't make babarm87's rateyourmusic list.

there will always be mountains to climb.

x-post

albums i've heard and can recommend from the first *AND* second lists:
Battles, Eluvium, Stars of the Lid.

albums i can recommend from the first list:
Japancakes.

albums i can recommend from the second list:
Robin Guthrie & Harold Budd, x2.

I approve of Tunturia.

here's silent ballet's 2008 list. i've heard one! the earth album. that's it. the rest is completely unknown to me other than a few names (like steve hillage, duh and that one cocteau twin dude)

http://www.thesilentballet.com/tsbt/2008/10_01.html

and here is their essential electronica list for 2008:

http://www.thesilentballet.com/tsbt/2008/electronica_30_16.html

tell me which one of the electronica albums is the best on their list. i'll buy it. note: i bought maria that lindstrom album for her birthday. so we have that one. she wasn't that big on it. but i still haven't heard it.

scott, you might find more bands like this on "Now Like Photographs" our local college station's "epic instrumental music" show....which basically by which they mean stuff like this...anyway i hear some good stuff on it.

http://nowlikephotographs.com/

i know everyone is on pins & needles waiting for the silent ballet top 50 of 2010! i can't wait either. i think there were, like, 4 albums i had heard of on their 2009 list.