Post-rock: Difference between revisions

Post-rock is a music genre characterized by the use of musical instruments commonly associated with rock music (typically a line-up of two electric guitars, an electric bass guitar and a drum set), but utilizing rhythms, harmonies, melodies and chord progressions that are unorthodox in rock and roll. Post rock is often instrumental, and when singing and lyrics are featured, they are often less prominent than in other rock and roll styles.

As with many musical genres, the term is arguably inadequate as a concise descriptor: for example, Don Caballero and Mogwai were among the more prominent bands of the 1990s described as post rock, but the two bands' music has very little in common besides the fact that they are both largely instrumental. As such, the term has been the subject of backlash from listeners and artists alike.^[1]

Although firmly rooted in the indie scene of the 1980s and '90s, post-rock's style bears little resemblance musically to that of indie rock. However, as post-rock music is often recorded on independent labels, indie and post-rock often share the same level of obscurity.

The term 'Post-rock' was coined by critic Simon Reynolds in his review of Bark Psychosis' album Hex, published in the March 1994 issue of Mojo magazine. Reynolds expanded upon the idea later in the May 1994 issue of The Wire.^[2][3]

He used the term to describe music "using rock instrumentation for non-rock purposes, using guitars as facilitators of timbre and textures rather than riffs and power chords." He further expounded on the term,

Perhaps the really provocative area for future development lies... in cyborg rock; not the wholehearted embrace of Techno's methodology, but some kind of interface between real time, hands-on playing and the use of digital effects and enhancement.

In a July 2005 entry in his blog, Reynolds claimed he had used the term "post-rock" before using it in Mojo, previously using it in music newspaper Melody Maker.^[4] He also said he later found the term to not be of his own creation, saying in his blog, "although I genuinely believed I was coining the term, I discovered many years later it had been floating around for over a decade." The term was also used by James Wolcott in a 1975 article about Todd Rundgren.

Originally used to describe the music of such bands^[5] as Cul de Sac,^[6] Stereolab,^[7] Laika,^[8] Disco Inferno,^[9] Moonshake,^[10] Seefeel,^[11] Bark Psychosis, and Pram,^[2] post-rock grew to frequently be used for a variety of jazz and krautrock influenced, largely instrumental, and electronica-tinged music made after 1994.^[11][5]

Bands from the early 1990s, such as Slint, or earlier, such as Talk Talk, were influential on the genre.^[11] Slint's Spiderland^[11] and Talk Talk's Laughing Stock^[12] are credited as birthing post-rock.^[5]

Tortoise is also widely considered as being among the founders of the movement.^[13] After the second Tortoise LP Millions Now Living Will Never Die, the band became a post-rock icon.^[11][14] Many bands (e.g., Do Make Say Think) began to record music inspired by the "Tortoise-sound."^[15]

In the late 1990s, Chicago was the home base for a variety of post-rock associated performers. Both John McEntire of Tortoise and Jim O'Rourke of Brise-Glace and Gastr del Sol were important producers for many of the groups.^[16]

One of the most eminent post-rock locale is Montreal, where Godspeed You! Black Emperor and similar groups, including A Silver Mt. Zion, Do Make Say Think, and Fly Pan Am record on Constellation, a notable post-rock record label.^[17] These groups are generally characterized by a leftist political ethic and an aesthetic rooted in, among other genres, musique concrète, chamber music, and free jazz.^{[citation needed]}

Canadian post-rock outfit Godspeed You! Black Emperor and Scottish group Mogwai were among some of the influential post rock groups to arise during the turn of the 21st century.^[18][5]

In the early 2000s, the term had started to fall out of favour.^[13] It became increasingly controversial as more critics outwardly condemned its use.^[5] Some of the bands for whom the term was most frequently assigned, including Cul de Sac,^[19][20] Tortoise,^[13] and Mogwai,^[1] rejected the label. The wide range of styles covered by the term, they and others have claimed, rob it of its usefulness.^[21]

Today, despite criticism of the term, post-rock has maintained its prominence and the genre has been subject to no shortage of groups claiming the title. Post-rock outfits Explosions in the Sky, Pelican and Mono have risen in popularity, showing the longevity of the disputed genre.^[22]

The post-rock sound incorporates characteristics from a variety of musical genres, including ambient, jazz, electronica, and experimental.^[5] Early post-rock groups also often exhibited strong influence from the krautrock of the '70s, particularly borrowing elements of "motorik", the characteristic krautrock rhythm.^[5]

Post-rock compositions often make use of repetition of musical motifs and subtle changes with an extremely wide range of dynamics. In some respects, this is similar to the music of Steve Reich and Philip Glass, pioneers of minimalism. Typically, post-rock pieces are lengthy and instrumental, containing repetitive build-ups of timbre, dynamics and texture.^{[citation needed]}

Vocals are often omitted from post-rock; however, this does not necessarily mean they are absent entirely. When vocals are included, the use is typically non-traditional: some post-rock bands employ vocals as purely instrumental efforts and incidental to the sound, rather than a more traditional use where "clean", easily-interpretable vocals are important for poetic and lyrical meaning.^[5] When present, post-rock vocals are often soft or droning and are typically infrequent or present in irregular intervals. Sigur Rós, a band known for their distinctive vocals, fabricated a language they call 'Hopelandic', which has been described by the band as "a form of gibberish vocals that fits to the music and acts as another instrument".^[23]

The post-rock approach to music, such as the emphasis on instrumental work and sonic texture, is somewhat similar to the earlier New Age music movement of the '70s and '80s.^{[citation needed]}

Post-rock is characterized by guitars like the Fender Jaguar and the Jazzmaster in combination with delay and reverb. These guitars have an uncommon arrangement of strings that allows the musicians to make use of the instruments' " third bridge" to create chiming, harp-like sounds.^{[citation needed]}

Harmonically, there is typically an emphasis on consonance.^{[citation needed]}

Post-rock is sometimes compared to progressive rock; in certain circumstances, they can seem very similar, due to their experimentation, non-traditional use of rock instruments, and borrowing of elements from electronic music, jazz, and rock. The vagueness involved is part of the criticism of the term "post-rock."^{[citation needed]}

Some bands, such as Rachel's and Clogs, combine post-rock with classical music, while others such as Godspeed You! Black Emperor are so far removed from popular music in their sparseness of arrangement and use of repetition, that they are frequently compared to minimalism.^[5]

Wider experimentation and blending of other genres have recently taken hold in the post-rock scene. Many bands, including Isis and Pelican have been fusing heavy metal with post-rock styles. The resulting sound has been recently termed post-metal. Some post-rock bands have been using vocals similar to those found in death metal, including Bossk.^{[citation needed]}

The Appleseed Cast's Low Level Owl 2001 project saw the previously emo band expand their sound with a double-album suite of atmospheric songs and ambient instrumental pieces. ^{[citation needed]}

Electronica and sampling elements are being incorporated in post-rock by groups like 65daysofstatic, Pivot and From Monument to Masses.^{[citation needed]}

• List of post-rock bands
• New Prog
• Post-metal

• Reynolds' article
• The Silent Ballet: A Post-Rock Webzine
• Post-Rock Mp3 Blog