Post Rock

Record #352: Alcest – Kodama (2016)

/ Nathaniel FitzGerald
kodama

French Blackgaze pioneers Alcest have been mixing their black metal with generous helpings of shoegaze and post rock since before Deafheaven was even a twinkly in George and Kerry’s eyes…
2012′s Les Voyages de L’Ame was an absolute masterpiece that blended the most emotive elements of each palette into one hard hitting work.
​2014′s Shelter, however, seemed content to glide along in shoegaze territory without shifting gears very often. It was a decent album, but the lack of teeth was a little bit of a disappointment. After all–can you really call it blackgaze if there’s nothing black metal about it?
“Mais non!” said Alcest, unleashing upon us Kodama, a concept album based on the works of Hayao Miyazaki (so they say–the lyrics are in French so I can’t verify. That is, when the lyrics aren’t Sigur Ros style ad libs).
And it. is. heavy.
From the opening strains, Kodama plants its feet firmly on the bedrock and refuses to give way. Don’t go in expecting all double bass and chugged guitars–there’s still plenty of post rock prettiness and clean vocals. But its heft is often more emotional than dynamic, relying more on the strength of its composition and atmosphere than just playing fast and loud.
But for all of this, its forty-two minutes seem to fly by in a breeze, demanding repeat listens (a quality even Les Voyages lacked). And it will certainly get those from me.

Record #341: Hammock – Maybe They Will Sing For Us Tomorrow (2008)

/ Nathaniel FitzGerald
maybe they will sing for us tomorrow

While there’s no shortage of ambience and prettiness in post rock, Hammock outdoes all of their contemporaries on Maybe They Will Sing For Us Tomorrow, an hour long album free of any sort of rhythm.
None. No percussion, no lead lines. One hour of nothing but spaced out chord swells. It’s a huge gamble, and it’s one that pays off.
Instead of boring, the album plays as sixty minutes of absolute serenity.
Which isn’t to say there isn’t any tension–the album starts to pick up steam as it goes on, the reverberated guitars pushing the amps to their breaking point, achieving the same affect as other instrumental outfits with half the sonic palette.

Record #330: Alcest – Les Voyages de L’Âme (2012)

/ Nathaniel FitzGerald
I have written at length about my relationship with metal music (most of those sentiments can be found here), but I’ll sum it up again.
I don’t like a lot of metal (chuggity chugs, show yourself out. You too, obnoxious tapping solos), but the metal that I DO like, I absolutely love. ISIS, Palms, Jesu, Pelican, Russian Circles, Pallbearer, Deafheaven, Thrice (are too metal, shush), Wolves in the Throne Room…
​I’ve joked that I like my metal like Ben Carson: black, not progressive, and kinda sleepy.
And unto that punchline, a friend of mine suggested Le Voyages de L’Âme by blackgaze pioneers Alcest. Hailing from France and grabbing onto the same sort of life affirming sentiment as post rock often does (the title means “Journeys of the Soul”), Neige and Winterhalter (awesome metal name is awesome) ride loud waves of guitars and soaring melodies into one of my new favorite metal records.
Dynamically, there’s a lot of soft/loud changes that black metal rarely gets into (never, if the purists have anything to say about it). Clean guitar lines saturated with reverb (more Perfect Circle or ISIS than Explosions in the Sky) tensely build into frenzied bursts of clanging drums and ripping guitar tremolos.
And while a majority of the album features sung vocals and less extreme drums, there are few moments of sheer black metal catharsis, shrieking, blast beats and all, like the climax of “Là où Naissent les Couleurs Nouvelles” (“Where New Colors are Born”) or the entirety of “Beings of Light” which would be a straight black metal song were it not for the ethereal choir and angelic alto that run through it.
Also, unlike most metal, much of this record plays in 6/8 time, giving a balladic feel even to some of the more aggressive numbers like “Faiseurs de Mondes” (“Makers of Worlds”). Closer “Summer’s Glory” restrains itself, pulling larger portions of cinematic post rock than metal to end the album on as victorious a note as they can muster, and they can muster quite a bit.
All in all, Les Voyages de L’Âme takes the most heartstring-pulling tricks from black metal, post rock, and shoegaze and throws them together in one beautiful, gorgeous whole. There’s not a bad moment on this disc–every second is aurally breathtaking and dripping with joie de vivre. And as someone who loves triumphant, melodic metal, Alcest is a revelation to me.

Record #306: Do Make Say Think – Winter Hymn Country Hymn Secret Hymn (2003)

/ Nathaniel FitzGerald
Record #306: Do Make Say Think - Winter Hymn Country Hymn Secret Hymn (2003) I have spoken before about the two major camps post rock. On the one hand, you have the cinematic climax chasers like Mogwai, Godspeed You! Black Emperor, and Explosions in...

I have spoken before about the two major camps post rock. On the one hand, you have the cinematic climax chasers like Mogwai, Godspeed You! Black Emperor, and Explosions in the Sky. These are the thrill seekers, the masters of bombast and heart wrenching emoting. On the other, you have a more measured, cerebral approach, utilized by bands like Tortoise, Collections of Colonies of Bees, and Do Make Say Think. These groups are closer to architects than artists, but that doesn’t mean their works are any leas awe inspiring. After all, the Sistine Chapel isn’t notable for the ceiling alone. These groups get most of their affect not from crescendo and decrescendo, but from construction and deconstruction.

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