65daysofstatic

Wild Light (2013)
 Torrent


New 65daysofstatic up for grabs, might actually see this band play this Friday. I remember the first time I heard The Fall of Math, such an apocalyptic sound. 

Cloudkicker

Subsume (2013)
Bandcamp 

 

Maelström

Le Feu Follet (2013)

Bandcamp 

One day my buddy Danny told me that he was just starting an EP and that he would have it done by the end of the week. To my surprise he actually accomplished it and the result is Le Feu Follet, an interesting assortment of ambient tunes and beats.  Head over to the Bandcamp page to stream it and show your support!

Credit to Katie Acheson for the album art, another friend!

Dinner

And...Hearing Things (2009)
FileFactory

Dinner is a math/post rock band from Yamagata, Japan. This album was released in 2009. I have only listened to a few songs but I really like what I have heard so far. Give them a listen!

Baths

Obsidian (2013)
http://www.bathsmusic.com/


Happy to finally hear the second full length release from Will Wisenfeld, aka Baths. His previous release, Cerulean, was an uplifting glitch hop album that sounded like the sun reflecting off a lake on a summer day. Cerulean is my go to album when resting on a boat or enjoying a hot day. Obsidian takes a one eighty from Cerulean. The album art alone is enough to give you an idea of what you will hear on the album. That's not to say that is is completely dark, but it definitely has its melancholy moments. Their are many warm songs on the album, such as the fifth track, "Incompatible." While it may be a downtempo track, one will see that is actually a heartfelt love song of Will Wisenfeld describing his feelings towards his boyfriend moving in with him in his house. I had to chuckle giggle smile when I first heared the line, "First boyfriend. You live in my house and we share a toilet seat." This album really has a ton of awesome moments and on first listen I realized it's just one of those albums that you have to listen to over and over again to really get, hell a lot of critics have been rating it above Cerulean.

I am excited to see Baths perform live in Detroit this Saturday! I believe this is first time touring, definitely will be dancing to some groovy Cerulean tracks. 

Shy Guy Says

Sucraphrenia (2011)

Bandcamp

For those of you still listening...

"Centered in Illinois, we've been playing music across the midwest since 2008. We like to throw ourselves in the "undefinable" genre category, although we've certainly been influenced by the region's historic DIY scene, as well as a long list of post-rock, shoegaze, ambient, and math-rock bands."

100%Chevalier

EP-IC (2013)
Bandcamp 

Spacey instrumental math/post rock from Strasbourg, France. They remind me a lot of Maserati with the occasional quirkiness of Battles.

Jakub Żytecki

Demos 2010
RGhost 


Incredible musician from Poland, his music is a woven blend of jazz and metal styles. The music feels godlike and divine, the guitarist's talent is just off the charts. He seems to be rather unheard off, I hope he plans to release more music but I believe this is all there is, but it is more than enough to start with. The production quality is amazing considering its only a demo.

Myspace

Io

Io (2012)
Bandcamp 

I'm a fan of all the jazz and progressive metal fusions that are hitting the scene, it just might be the next big thing. This band certainly does it well, and I believe this is just their first release.  Awesome album artwork.

 

Know Not

Is and of The (2012)
Bandcamp 

These are the strange noises I woke up to this morning, damn I love Tuesdays.

The Hitt Boyz

Nice Weather We're Having (2012)
Bandcamp 

Don't let the album art fool you, this is some serious shit. Oklahoma City band bringing you a free EP with some wonderful melodies.

The Ascent of Everest

From This Vantage (2010)
Mediafire 


Talk about creating landscapes through music...check em out.

Cloudkicker

Fade (2012)
Bandcamp 

Ben Sharp is back again with his fifth full length album entitled Fade. This man is constantly redefining his sound, from the heavy and emotion packed album Beacons to the feel good shoegaze of Let Yourself Be Huge, he now releases a uniquely progressive album that seems to have a little of both. This is one of my top favorite bands, one of the bands on this blog that I would highly recommend listening to. Check out my older posts here to find the full Cloudkicker discography, you HAVE to hear Beacons.

Ben does a AMA on the post-rock subreddit here: Reddit

Willow

The Roanoke EP (2012)
Bandcamp 

Three piece experimental band from Rhode Island, this EP was released last month. Cool, refreshing, ambient, mathy. Show them some love for a buck.

The American Dollar

Awake in the City (2012)
Download 

Jónsi

Go (2010)

Mediafire  

Uplifting and artistic dream pop written solely by the lead singer and guitarist of Sigur Rós, Jón Þór Birgisson. This Icelandic native has a voice that has captivated such a wide variety of listeners that it has been used in many different commercials and soundtracks for years. Chances are, you've probably heard this man's voice somewhere but just didn't realize it at the time. A lot of the music is sung in his native tongue but there are some English songs. From my experience, the words don't even matter with this man, his voice alone tells a story.

The American Dollar

Winter 2010 Compilation (2010)
Bandcamp 

 Beautifully orchestrated New York band, The American Dollar will not let you down. The band plays an ambient post-rock style of music that sounds like a blend of Radiohead and Sigur Ros. The Winter 2010 Compilation is being given away for free on the bands Bandcamp page. It takes a select few of their songs off of each of their previous albums and puts them together on one cd. I'm really enjoying what I hear so far and may have to look into getting the rest of the albums in full.

Sigur Rós

 Agætis byrjun (1999)

 Megaupload

     ( )  (2002)

 Megaupload

 Takk... (2005)
 Megaupload

 Með suð í eyrum við spilum endalaust (2008)

Mediafire


      Sigur Rós is a four piece post-rock band from Reykjavík, Iceland. The band name was taken from the lead vocalist little sisters name, which means victory rose. The band plays a very unique style of post rock with heavy amounts of both ambiance and dream like states.  Ágætis byrjun is a beautifully slow album that almost acts as a lullaby, I've used it to fall asleep on numerous occasions. If your looking for a more upbeat album, you should check out Með suð í eyrum við spilum endalaust, the first song, Gobbledigook, gives a great first impression to the rest of the album. Yes this band's music is in an unfamiliar language to most of us, but I feel like it's nice to listen to something that you cannot fully understand. Sigur Rós has gained popularity in America, despite it being in a different language, because of course music is the universal language. The melodies and the soothing vocals will undoubtedly leave you feeling some sort of emotion, and before you know it you will have fallen in love as I have.

I would suggest watching this music video from a track named "Hoppipolla" off of the album Takk...
 It is a great song and the video itself is quite humorous. Youth is wasted on the young.

On Wings of Wax

Pseudo (2011)

 The Escape (2011)

So I was on facebook one day and the little sidebar with the advertisements said, "Do you like Cloudkicker?" And I thought to myself, "Why yes, I do like Cloudkicker."  So I clicked it and discovered "On Wings of Wax." This band pronounced Cloudkicker as one of their biggest influences, so you should check them out! Progressive metal with a djent style, mixed with layers of ambience.

They're giving these two albums away at "name your price" value, just follow this link to their Bandcamp.

If These Trees Could Talk

Above the Earth, Below the Sky (2009)
Mediafire 

 Self-Titled EP (2006)
Megaupload