Post-rock. It's a fairly new genre, with roots merely beginning in the mid-to-late 90s, starting with bands such as The Sea and Cake and Laika. Post-rock really started picking up some steam when Tortoise emerged on the scene, and has only grown sense. Boasting bands that have gained an undeniable amount of credibility with their music such as Godspeed You! Black Emperor, Mogwai, Explosions In The Sky, Do Make Say Think, Sigur Rós, and even encompassing bands such as Mouth of the Architect and The Books under the genre's wing. But what IS post-rock?
Most simply, post-rock is a clash between a wide variety of music, new and old, mixing forms of minimalist, shoegaze, with genres like jazz, minimalist, and even classical. Post-rock can be classified as "rock," in so much that it uses modern instruments (electric guitar, electric bass, drums, etc.), in a somewhat contemporary fashion. But this is about as near that post-rock encroaches upon the realms of contemporary rock music.
Typically, post-rock is associated with a few main details: the music is instrumental, it uses repetition by one or more instruments to produce a complex, textured sound, and gives off a
very cerebral, ambient vibe. The easiest way to view post-rock is viewing it in relation to post-modern art. As modern artists painted their works, following doctrined rules to make detailed compositions, post-modern artists rebelled against these rules, and made intricate pieces without restraint. Post-rock uses this same concept in it's inception: direct opposition to the formally unwritten dogma of modern rock to produce ambient rock, disconcordant to that of previous stylings, yet encompassing everything that makes modern rock interesting. Post-rock is a direct rebellion from the typical styles you'll hear from anyone else.
But what makes a post-rock artist tick? What makes them specifically different than other artists? This is still a debate that is highly contested among critics and average listeners alike. Sure, there are those bands which, if post-rock was uttered in casual conversation, would
instantly have fingers pointed at them, for their higher notability in the field such as Godspeed You! Black Emperor and Mogwai. But there are other bands as well who, since post-rock's inception, are now on the border of post-rock and indie rock, or other similar genres, such as experimental music or space rock, et cetera. Bands such as Grizzly Bear, The Arcade Fire, and Broken Social Scene have occasional dubbed post-rock. Particularly speaking on Grizzly Bear, who uses strong amounts of harmony and ambiance within their music to create a very post-rock-ish feel, are generally labeled as indie rock, even though they directly share many of the the qualities of post-rock bands. Furthermore, there are bands, namely Mogwai, who most would say lie directly within the realms of post-rock, who put down the term in relations to themselves.
Generally though, bands with a strong emphasis toward instrumental, ambient music, with strong use of repetition or far fetched composition styles are generally coined post-rock. Despite there differences (and their similarities for that matter), post-rock generally follows those few trends. Vocals can be used, but will generally not be used in direct relation to the song, rather as a part of the composition itself, such as harmonizing of several singers. Otherwise, lyrics will generally be perpendicular to the music itself, either speaking phrases that don't necessarily fit together cohesively, or simply spoken word, not in time with the song itself.
Several bands within post-rock, despite criticism against their being inducted with the genres boundaries, are worth noting. Most prominent are those from the self-made capital of post-rock,
Montreal, Canada. This primarily references Godspeed You! Black Emperor. GY!BE, as they're often referred to, has slowly built their music completely in opposition to modern rock. Rather than creating music styled with verses, chorus, hooks, and bridges, GY!BE composes movements in example of classical music, earning them the genre of avant-garde in modern day society. Their compositions generally stretch upward of 10 minutes a piece, their longest reaching above 30 minutes. The entire composition is effectively issues a wide range of repetition and depth that can only be achieved through such drawn out musical content, and GY!BE is not shy to put strong crescendos in their music.
But as of 2003, Godspeed announced that they would enter into an indefinite hiatus. In the wake of the bands hibernation from music, there has been an influx of bands spawned from former GY!BE members to continue the post-rock movement so related to Montreal artists, names like A Silver Mt. Zion, Fly Pan Am, and Set Fire to Flames.
On further note of large bands becoming newer, further intricate bands, the discussion of post-rock can't continue without Broken Social Scene. BSS is one of the borderline post-rock artists, only setting themselves apart from the genre with emphasis toward lyrics, though they tend to be disconcordant at times to the entire piece of a song. Broken Social Scene already uses strength of repetition to their advantage with their music, particularly in songs like KC Accidental from
You Forgot It In People, but their lull in music-making has influenced their huge company of musicians to take on solo projects, some of which are in the realm of post-rock. Most notably would be Do Make Say Think, formed by Charles Spearin and Ohad Benchetrit. Incorporating a more electronic style, with a mix of jazz, they use everything from keyboards to brass instruments to create their ambiance. Bands such as Valley of the Giants, coined "post-rock supergroup" by their Wikipedia page, is a direct alignment of Canning and Spearin from Broken Social Scene, and Sophie Trudeau from GY!BE and A Silver Mt. Zion, bringing direct relation between Broken Social Scene and post-rock. Furthermore, bands like Bell Orchestre, a completely instrumental band with full-time members of The Arcade Fire among their party, bring in borderline post-rock bands in a full circle of inclusiveness.
Explosions In The Sky is a another leader of the post-rock music. Coming from deep in the heart of Texas, Explosions In The Sky quickly live up to their name. Going from cool, solemn high notes, played discreetly and serenely, even complete and total ambiance, to an all out castrophonic ejection of sheer explosive noise in mere moments. From the violent and turbulent, to the peaceful and soothing, the trio of electric guitars mixing their delicate sounds into intricate textures, balanced out with drums, summarizes perfectly that picaresque American view of middle-of-nowhere west Texas.
It should also be further noted that just because some of these bands are taking a break from their music, while fans await future music by bands such as Mogwai and Tortoise who continue to produce new material, it is not to be said that the giants among the genre are the only artists making post-rock. Post-rock is constantly attempting to evolve with new artists springing up in example of more recent talent such as Explosions In The Sky. New artists such as
This Will Destroy You,
destroyalldreamers, God is an Astronaut,
All About Max,
From Monument to Masses,
The Paper Chase,
Post Harbor,
Astrobotica Supra De' Nova, and
Japancakes are pushing the boundaries of post-rock as we speak, testing out new sounds, new harmonies, and new formulas to take this new genre to heights never before imagined.
Post-rock is a testament to music, one which states loudly and boldly, in ways truly unique to it's own, that music is an evolutionary movement, which will never die, but slowly grow into new plains that defy the realms of that which is labeled modern and standard.
