Record #1000: U2 – The Unforgettable Fire (1984)

After War its subsequent tour made them into The Next Big Thing, U2 pushed back. Per Bono’s own account, the world was waiting for the next The Who or Led Zeppelin, and it seemed that they were poised to fill ascend to that throne.

But they didn’t want to be “the Next” whoever or other. They wanted to be the first U2. And so they eschewed the throne waiting for them and took a hard left turn instead. They rented a castle and hired Brian Eno and Daniel Lanois to produce (a decision that Bono had to talk both the label and Eno himself into). Eno and Lanois took the sense of atmosphere that had always been a spice on their albums and turned it into a main course.

The resulting album was unlike anything before or since, forecasting shoegaze and post rock in prescient detail. And even in the light of thirty years, The Unforgettable Fire remains the most consequential album they’ve ever made.

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Record #996: U2 – Boy (1980)

After a career of arena tours, high-profile philanthropy, Platinum records, Broadway soundtracks (remember the Spider-Man musical?), unsolicited album releases, and more hits than you can shake a stick at, it can be hard to remember that U2 was birthed out of the same scene as the Clash, Wire, Joy Division, and the Cure.

But even the most shallow listen to Boy will snap that picture into focus, simultaneously forecasting a prescient image of the iconic band that they would become.

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Record #989: Do Make Say Think – You, You’re a History In Rust (2007)

I have spoken at length about the opposing camps within the history of post rock: Team Mogwai and Team Tortoise. It seems that by and large, Team Mogwai has been the victors. These days, the term generally refers to the dramatic, climax-chasing narratives of bands like Explosions in the Sky, This Will Destroy You, and MONO.

But across the pond from the Glaswegians, you have Tortoise, whose compositions are more groove oriented, taking nods from jazz, Krautrock, and dub. Bands like Collections of Colonies of Bees, Bark Psychosis, and Do Make Say Think.

As much as I love the emotionality and bombast of the climaxcore side of post rock, I often find myself being drawn to the more cerebral side. So when I found this copy of DMST’s celebrated You, You’re a History In Rust in a used bin, I snagged it without a thought.

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Record #972: Mogwai – Come On Die Young (1999)

It’s hard to overstate just how pivotal a release Young Team was. Before that record, the term “post rock” was used to describe a large variety of vaguely experimental groups that drew more from Krautrock and jazz than pop rock traditions: bands like Tortoise, Bark Psychosis, June of 44, even Stereolab.

On the other side of that record though, the term conjures images of heavily effected electric guitars and dramatic songwriting. It was such a sea change that as more bands started using those building blocks to similar effect, they were lambasted as Mogwai ripoffs.

Mogwai themselves seemed conscious of this, and sought to distance themselves. Their sophomore record is still mostly instrumental guitar-based music, but their penchant for increasing the dynamics of the songs until they break apart is largely gone.

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Record #977: Men As Trees – Weltschmerz & Sea of Ice Songs (2023)

As I’ve written before, I have mostly ignored skramz until I just recently discovered that there’s actually a lot of skramz that I really, really, really, really like. My ignorance of the subgenre was so strong though that I even missed some of the excellent screamo that was happening in my own backyard.

Exhibit A in the case against me is Men As Trees, who would later become Locktender—who I have known and loved for the last few years, but haven’t dug too deeply into their former project (I blame guitarist Andrew Kallicragas’new projects Pack Sounds and JAGALCHI for distracting me). That is, until this reissue, which combines their 2008 LP Weltschmerz with the later EP Sea of Ice Songs (the latter of which was based on the same painter as  Locktender’s Friederich).

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Record #969: Emma Ruth Rundle – Some Heavy Ocean (2014)

I’ve been going through a massive Emma Ruth Rundle phase lately. It all started when I revisited On Dark Horses and realized that it’s probably in my top fifty records of all time. In the couple weeks since, I’ve revisited the many, many other projects of hers I have.

When that wasn’t enough, I took to Discogs to fill the gaps in my collection. Most glaring of these was Some Heavy Ocean, her first outing as a solo singer-songwriter (as opposed to her proper solo debut, Electric Guitar: One, which was a series of instrumental improvisations). And while Some Heavy Ocean doesn’t have as much metallic heaviness as her later solo records, it’s hardly straightforward folk either. The sonic palette borrows a lot of atmosphere from her time in post rock and shoegaze bands. Continue reading

Record #967: Flying Saucer Attack – Flying Saucer Attack (1993)

Speaking of the intersection of ambient music and barely decipherable shoegaze, I realized recently that as often as they come up in conversations about shoegaze, drone, post rock, lo-fi, and other noisy scenes that tickle my brain in a nice way, I haven’t dug too deep into Flying Saucer Attack.

Of course, I’m familiar with them by reputation. I’ve even had a copy of Further for years. But my love for the project has not stretched out much beyond that one record. When I was reading about Belong for the last post though, there was an inordinate amount of comparisons to this, FSA’s self-titled record.

While Further is often lifted up as their most significant record, Flying Saucer Attack is much more song-based, implementing more substantial vocals and ubiquitous drum loops alongside the otherworldly ambient guitar experiments they’re remembered for.

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