Quickly, name as many post-rock bands as you can off the top of your head. I’ll give you a minute.
Done? Lets see how you faired.
15-20 = Excellent. You either work for Thrill Jockey or your name is David Pajo.
10-15 = Good. You own a lot of post-rock albums that no one has ever heard of.
5-10 = Average. You’ve purchased Spiderland and Millions Now Living Will Never Die
0-5 = Poor. You don’t listen to ANYTHING past 1979
So then, which ones did you forget out of this mini list?
The Rachel’s, Tortoise, Karate, Cul De Sac, Gastr Del So, Rodan, June of 44, Ui, Pluramon, Mogwai, Godspeed! You Black Emperor, HiM, Trans Am, Fly Pan Am, The Sea and Cake, Cogs, Papa M, The For Carnation, The Dirty Three, 5ive Style, Do Make Say Think, Aerial M, Bardo Pond, Dianogah, Seam, Flying Saucer Attack, Set Fire to Flames, Au Revoir Borealis, A Silver Mt. Zion, Larval, Unwed Sailor, Pell Mell, Laika, FCS North, Labradford, Jessamine, Plaid.
Those previous bands are branded post rock often (and unfairly at times) and are getting the ass end of the deal as post rock really has its roots in sonic bending innovators like Fred van Hove, Rhys Chatham, The Mahavishnu Orchestra, Phillip Glass, Tony Parker, Steve Reich, Can and a host of other Kraut rockers, Glenn Braca, Iannis Xenakis, Yo La Tengo, Sonic Youth, and John Zorn who then lead the way up to the immediate and more obvious post-rock precursors such as Bark Psychosis, Slint, Stereolab and Talk Talk.
The genre wasn’t official until the mid 90s with Millions and has now blossomed into so many cross-pollinated forms that outfits like Cerberus Shoal and Guapo are now considered post-rock when they really sound nothing like Spiderland.
In the third installment of the collaborative split series by Cerberus Shoal and North East Indie Records, the group teams up with Guapo, who starts the endeavor with “Idios Kosmos.” Cerberus Shoal follows with “a man who loved holes...” with the last track being a team effort. Even though each song has different players, the entire album is mainly droning looped snyth/piano/organs, oddball sound effects, feedback guitars, whacked and warped vocal clips, scarce percussion, and an overall haunting vibe. Everything about it screams post, but nothing rock.
I hear that Cerberus Shoal has a new album coming out soon. Hopefully that will be a bit more digestible, as this is downright impossible.
1. Idios Kosmos
2. A man who loved holes...
3. Kdios Iosmos, He Two Loved Holes
More about: Cerberus Shoal
