It seems that for something that seemed like it would be something of a fad in the early years after the turn of the millennium, post-rock is very much here to stay.
Circa 2004, every other band I saw, especially in Leeds, was of the post-rock persuasion, and while some were significantly better than others, stylistically and sonically, the majority were much of a muchness, and it grew very wearisome very quickly. With the benefit of the distance of time, I can listen to releases like this and feel nostalgic for times when gig-going felt different, in an era not only pre-pandemic, but pre-Brexit, pre-insane inflation, pre-crumbling of public transport.
One has to wonder how old the members of this Welsh trio were at the time of the initial explosion (in the sky), but they’ve certainly paid a lot of attention to the form and absolutely capture the essence of that period in musical terms.
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‘The Great Swells That Carry Us Will Pull Us Under’ – which is also the title track from their forthcoming album – is a quintessentially post-rock title: dramatic, perhaps a little pretentious-sounding, but also descriptive of the meandering music it’s attached to, and sure enough, the track is six minutes of textured mood-music, with chiming guitars expanding and contracting again through a series of crafted crescendos.
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