Skip to main content

Notes in Despair, But This is Post-Rock Vol. 2

Perhaps it is time to surrender to greed and all the genres that no longer feel relevant to my ears. I feel I can finally breathe in peace when facing what I can reasonably tolerate. And so, I return once more to post-rock.

Here are 10 releases I left behind in these brief notes born of despair ...

The Abyss Inside Us - The Road That Leads to Another... (2020)

65%

Yes, I too moved on to another path without leaving a trace—as if there were nothing but a noise that blurred the line between the music and the hustle and bustle around me. No memories worth keeping.

Highlight: -

The American Dollar - Free Winter 2010 Compilation (2010)

75%

Nostalgia and exhaustion give life to these songs, serving as a soundtrack I haven't quite found anywhere else outside of ambient and new age.

Highlight: Signaling Through the Flames, Flood, DEA, War on Christmas

Anechois - A Shadow of a Sound (2012)

75%

This Singaporean group’s foray into the lands of post-rock feels neglected, foreign, and a bit tedious. However, the two bonus tracks they offer are an apology well worth appreciating.

Highlight: The Moon and the Sun, Out and About, Love and Serenity

Hand of the Ghost - For This Journey, I Am Unprepared (2026)

75%

Exactly. I was not prepared for the journey these two tracks take. I just keep walking with a hollow feeling, fueled by an anxiety that cannot simply be erased.

Highlight: Chaos & Clarity

Kichi - My Addiction (2024)

75%

Heh, how could I play this album while at a breaking point, struggling with a toxic addiction I haven't yet defeated? It is a fitting representation of the chaos in my head and heart, delivered with a burning energy.

Highlight: Colors of Universe, This is My Goodbye, Corpse Selling

The Mantra Discord - The Lost Widow (2024)

80%

Even a widow is fine if she is like this. I want to be in your arms. Caress me, comfort my lonely soul. Even if the world begins to crumble into ruin, stay with me. We can watch the fall of the world together...

Highlight: mostly all tracks

Metrognome - Hornbook (2011)

75%

Progressive and conceptual—a refreshing change of pace that becomes clearer when I truly focus on it. Surprisingly, it didn't completely veer off the main road this time.

Highlight: (Carrying Out The Wish Of) Unsettled Waters, In the Search for Knowledge, Elman, Patience in Battle, The Terrible One's Horse

Oh Hiroshima - In Silence We Yearn (2015)

75%

The eight-year-old memories attached to this album have faded, though I still managed to harvest a few fruits from it. My admiration for the cover art, however, remains as enduring as ever.
Thank you for introducing me to post-rock along with those other albums, Oh Hiroshima.

Highlight: Ellipse, Aria, Drones

Quiet Waters - Comfort (2012)

70%

It doesn't feel particularly atmospheric because the hymns to God take center stage; meanwhile, my God has no need for that, and I myself am merely an observer. It’s not Panic! at the Disco, but rather Comfort in Quiet Waters.

Highlight: -

Springfield - Tides (2015)

70%

Springfield's second album isn't as tainted by psychedelia, sounding instead like the ebbing of the tide before the water returns to strike a wounded body with brine in "The Maw." Can you feel the sting? Ah, the grief. Yes, grief—even without this music, even in this life.

Highlight: Alaska, Empress

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Breakcore: Subheroine - End. (2025)

77 / 100 End. is Subheroine ’s most immersive and emotionally textured work yet ... Is being a week late enough to make a new release feel cold and stale? Maybe it’s the effect of our fast-paced modern world and the FOMO trend. Who knows. Whatever. Alright then, let’s welcome a new breakcore/drum & bass album (though it runs under 30 minutes) from Subheroine : End. ! End. by SUBHEROINE Released just on November 7 via Japan’s veteran breakcore label, Lost Frog Productions , End . delivers a noticeably more atmospheric vibe this time. So, tagging it as atmospheric drum & bass makes perfect sense, while the “depressive” tag seems to apply only to the cover art. But is that really the case? As always, there are surprises when reviewing music—those unexpected moments that make certain tracks sound more intriguing than expected. The most prominent depressive elements appear in the sampled voice of an anime girl sounding shocked or weakened in...

Electronica/IDM: 4T Thieves - Humanoid (2018)

70 / 100 Humanoid is a compact and tastefully crafted slice of IDM-leaning electronica that blends futuristic elements without overwhelming the listener. I opened my December with an electronica release by 4T Thieves , an EP titled Humanoid , which came out back in February 2018. A brief profile and the project’s track record can be found on RYM or Last.fm , and it’s clear that this act has been active since the 90s, although only arriving on Bandcamp around 2018. Humanoid by 4T Thieves As the name suggests, Humanoid presents a modern environment tinged with a futuristic sci-fi atmosphere, supported by drum work leaning toward IDM and prominent synth/bass that paints the image of a future city gate on “ Elemental .” This is followed by “ Codex ,” which is given a special dose of classic IDM-style glitch effects , and the rest continues into “ The Looking Glass ,” which gives off a nighttime-shadow feel through its slightly dark synth melodies. “Band...

Listening Notes: Playlist Clearance Vol. 1

If a store has a term called clearance sale, then I have a new agenda called playlist clearance . This agenda is meant to clean up releases sitting on my playlist shelves—sometimes for months—without any written listening notes. This matters a lot to me personally, since I prefer listening to music offline rather than streaming, even though platforms like Spotify also offer offline features. I’m already too used to downloading music, even if it means I’ll probably never really get into mainstream artists, which automatically reduces public attention. Hahaha… As for that issue, I do have my own alternative—but for now, I don’t yet have a map to avoid being overwhelmed and confused when diving into streaming platforms just to consume popular releases. Alright, back to cleaning up the playlist. What’s in here this time? Let’s take a look! Abraham – Débris de mondes perdus (2022) 73% Sometimes music can feel like a stab—or a cause of headache—like this fourth album from Sw...