Mogwai Find New in the Familiar with ‘The Bad Fire’
Despite moments of overfamiliarity and some flat vocal experiments, Mogwai’s 11th studio record captures a band still reinventing their signature sound.
instrumental rock
STS9 Light Up California with Transcendent Shows
STS9 conjure pure mana for the soul with their wizardly sonic alchemy. The livetronica tone scientists continue to play at a very high level.
STS9 Dazzle the Senses on ‘Chromalight’
Chromalight keeps a long winning streak going as STS9 continue pushing boundaries with their genre-blending sonic alchemy and collective improvisations.
Dirty Three Prove the Theory That Love Changes Everything
Dirty Three continue their long career of making organic, meditative post-rock jazz that always humbly approaches a single moment, without pretense or distraction.
MONO Recommit with Life-Affirming ‘Oath’
MONO return with a post-rock album about faith and commitment, which serves as a fitting epitaph for their long-term artistic collaboration with Steve Albini.
Khruangbin Are Still Easygoing and Effortlessly Cool
A LA SALA delivers on what Khruangbin are known for: chill, mostly easygoing guitar melodies backed by a deep rhythm section groove.
Animal Hospital’s ‘Shelf Life’ Is Intense, Layered Maximalism
Under the moniker Animal Hospital, Kevin Micka unspools a potent mix of instrumental tension and experimentalism on his first full-length album in three years.
15 Years of Mogwai’s ‘The Hawk Is Howling’
The Hawk Is Howling is full of signature moments when Mogwai explore complex combinations of moods from bright to dark, soft to heavy, and sensual to horrific.
Explosions in the Sky’s ‘The Earth Is Not a Cold Dead Place’ at 20
The Earth Is Not a Cold Dead Place is Explosions in the Sky’s most acclaimed album, establishing themselves as figureheads of epic, instrumental post-rock.
Explosions in the Sky Reach Uncertain Denouement with ‘End’
Explosions in the Sky summon an oracular experience, opening sonic spaces full of emotion and empty of subjectivity that can be imbued with a listener’s meaning.
Grails Balance Their Scales: The Reckoning of ‘Anches En Maat’
Portland’s experimental post-rock kingpins Grails mark two decades since their debut with a new full-length retrospective LP and chat with PopMatters.
STS9 & Maddy O’Neal Beat the Heat at Area 15’s Secret Garden
STS9, Maddy O’Neal and the Crystal Method team up for a two-night desert dance party at Sin City’s most mystical new venue, Area 51.