Arbor Lights – Hatherton Lake

A four-piece band that offers an excellent postrock release on bandcamp, Arbor Lights has worked on this release for two years. I especially like the name of the band – it makes me think of a stranger walking through a forest, noticing odd glowing orbs floating in the tree tops. This album just rolls along, seemingly nonstop, with five tracks clocking in at just over thirty two minutes. Starting out with an experimental noise type of sound, it quickly coalesces into a bright and rhythmic stroll through a deserted city block. Then it’s off to outer space and back, running the gamut of sonic textures in the process. It’s not too light – just the right amount of heaviness. The last track ties the whole album together nicely, and completes a total package of artistry that is very moving. One more thing – the cover art is perfect.

Name your own price (even free) but please consider supporting the artist.

Arbor Lights – Hatherton Lake

Hammock – Kenotic (and other albums)

Hooray, the orbit is not dead yet! I just discovered the ambient post-rock group Hammock last night via a post on Facebook linking to one of their songs on youtube. I was instantly enthralled. Hammock, is a collaboration between Marc Byrd and Andrew Thompson out of Nashville, TN. Their music creates such a transporting atmosphere, with washed out vocals, subtle beats, and huge echoing guitar tracks. I know you’ll love it, if you enjoy The Big Sleep or Explosions in the Sky. One note: this is a departure from what the orbit normally brings you, as the albums are not downloadable. Sorry folks, but these guys are too good for me not to mention, so you’ll just have to let soundcloud play it for you in the background. Enjoy!

Hammock – Kenotic on Soundcloud

Hammock’s website

We vs. Death – A Black House, A Colored Home

Nice melodic set of post rock. On their latest album, We vs. Deaths musical ramblings go all over and they aren’t afraid to explore any aural territory. The Dutch five-piece features the standard bass, guitar and drums, plus trumpet and even a concertina. If you’re a post rock fan, you definitely don’t want to miss this.

We vs. Death – A Black House, A Colored Home

Loss of a Child – Carry Me Home

An amazing post-rock album! One of the best yet by Loss Of A Child. Carry Me Home is well produced, heavily written post-rock that makes use of guitar and drums for a standard post-rock sound but adds piano and strings on top of  that to give it an orchestral feel, a labyrinth of intricacies and variations. This entire release actually feels like a soundtrack to a movie – a movie that I’d definitely want to see. I think I’ll use it as the soundtrack for the movie that plays in my head all day long…

Loss of a Child – Carry Me Home

Nice Wings, Icarus! – Self Titled

The Ukrainian post-rock crew takes a new style and adds their own old-world flair. This is not to be missed – one of the best post-rock bands I’ve come across since I started this website. Giant builds and drop-offs, guitars and violin mesh together, creating a moving and thoughtful experience. I’ll have this one on rotation for quite a while, I can assure you.

Nice Wings, Icarus! – Self Titled

Internet Archive: Free Download: Milhaven – Milhaven [12rec.061]

Milhaven is back with a rocking new record. Having departed from their old label, 12rec, they’ve graciously allowed their new release to be downloaded for free from the 12rec website. A little fresher, a little more grown up, they’ve honed their sound and distilled it into a purer form that rocks all the harder.

Eight tracks that run for almost fifty minutes, there are plenty of droning builds and smooth transitions from clean guitar to slamming melt-your-face-off electric guitar; quiet moments that induce a feeling of elation; slow intros leading up to loud and rowdy guitar themes. Milhaven does it just right. Do not miss this – if you’re a fan of post-rock then this release is a must have.

Internet Archive: Free Download: Milhaven – Milhaven [12rec.061].