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Maybe some of you slept on Beware of Safety "Lotusville" as I did (it's been 5 years and I still haven't heard it yet, didn't know they had even newer release; I lost connection probably due to leaving Mylene Sheath back then..) - here's your chance:

https://bewareofsafety.bandcamp.com/album/lotusville

Vinyl 50% off with code 'lotusville'

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Back to work after the dream-filled Post. Festival. 

Seriously guys, I don't know why you all aren't there.  It's just..... incredible.  I know I gush over a lot of stuff, but seeing all these bands we love just absolutely DESTROY on stage is something truly special.  Great hangs with @mrewest who also got to see the PSOTY shirt that @drds89 gave to me a few years ago :)


As stated above, Girih DID annihilate Post. Fest.  Way better live than on record.  A quick run-down of my experience:

Shy, Low and Au Revoir - we all expected them to lay waste to that stage, and they did.  Shy, Low played TWO new songs, and Au Revoir ended with one new song.  All of them ruled.  These bands deserve to be so much bigger than they are. 

Pray For Sound - the best American post-rock band?  They would get my vote.  Even after losing their 3rd guitar player, these guys lost no steps.  They are impressive, and scarily consistent with their material quality.  They did 4 new songs, and they were all awesome.  The "Everything Is Beautiful" material continues to demonstrate that album's majesty.  I can't say enough good things about this band.  When I see them, I feel like I've just been given an IV of joy and positive vibes.  They're fun to watch, and painfully affable and friendly.  All the good things. 

Ranges - I know these guys are polarizing a little bit, but I enjoy them.  They have this weird meditative, somber thing going on that makes me think I'm in a quiet forest in the middle of the mountains and it's snowing and everything is perfectly still.  I like it. 

Lowercase Noises - Andy wrote a full set of new material that had a bass, drummer, and xylophone player.  It was really good.  It's not available anywhere because he wrote it all last week.  Not even joking.  (okay it was 4 weeks ago but still)

Circus Trees - these kids are going to be huge.  Them and Wander were the highlight stealers.  I was so, so impressed with them; their live set wipes the floor with their recorded material, which is to be expected because at the age they are, you grow and mature at such a rapid pace.  Don't judge them by their recorded stuff.  Go see them.  This was unbelievably good. 

 

SOM - a super group of post-rock playing Deftones-type stuff.  It was fine, a lot of people loved it (my gf included) and i enjoyed it but there's other things i like more.  The cooks in this kitchen are impressive though:  Caspian's drummer on bass, the singer is the lead guy from Constants (who also produced Waking Season and Dust & Disquiet), the guitar player from Junius, and they had Eric from Rosetta/City of Ships doing FOH.  Check it out. 

Driving Slow Motion - they started off as stereotypically bland and cookie-cutter post-rock as I could ever imagine seeing, but man.... when they started to get dark and weird, their material got very engaging.  I will be checking out more of their stuff, because this was impressive. 

 

Wander - jesus fucking christ.  Go see this band.  Probably the festival highlight for me. 

I/O - a treat to finally hear some of these songs, i've been listening to them for years.  They started off a little shaky, but once they got settled it was really really good.  They have an interesting mix of math with the post-rock and some jazzy elements with the very active bass player.  Real nice.  "Anna" and "Input/Output" were very strong.

Life and Times - I don't really get it, but they played well. 

Spotlights - I liked some of it, I need to check them out more - a lot of people were flipping out over them (like you Evan haha) and it wasn't bad by any means at all, just not completely my thing. 

Holy Fawn - yeah, they're the next Caspian.  These guys are going to be biiiiiig. 


The fest ended up being 1.5 hours behind schedule, so we missed TEOTO and O'Brother because of flight schedules and pragmatic life choices.  I'll see them again, but it hurt to miss TEOTO.  I don't love the new material, so it's fine.


All in all, this was amazing.  They sold nearly 300 tickets, which was awesome - it was pretty full and the space was perfect.  This is going to be a thing, and all of you need to get there. 

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Just wanted to chime in on my post-Post Fest thoughts heyoh.

 

First off the sound guy & lighting guys were absolutely perfect the entire weekend.  No band could have possibly sounded nor looked better.

 

DAY 1

 

Au Revoir:  One of my favs during Dunk 2017, & were as good or better this time around.  They’re just so massive live.  And the new stuff sounded amazing.

 

Shy Low:  It’s funny that I got into them with Hiraeth & had an impression they were pretty chill.  I know I’ve heard other stuff from them that was heavy, but hoped the set would be mixed.  It was all pretty heavy.  Not as good as Au Revoir but still really good.

 

Moira:  Awesome new band to check out.  Very chill & moody with a groove & amazing vocalist.  Was a standout because of how unique their sound was relative to the other bands there.

 

Pray For Sound:  Welp, my thoughts are the complete opposite of Gumbo.  Sure, for what they are they sounded great, but I was so bored with them other than the opener, “Decayer”, which is the only song from ‘Dreamer’ played, which is the only album of theirs that did anything for me.  Gumbo, I love ya, but best American PR band????  Better than Caspian & everyone else??  

 

Lowercase Noises:  As Gumbo said, dude wrote every song played a MONTH before this fest.  Insane.  Especially with how good they all sounded.  I had minimal experience with this band before & had only listened to really chill/ambient stuff.  First half of the set continued that but then the last couple songs were ramped WAY up in intensity & were incredible. Ears open for whenever this album/EP gets released.

 

Ranges:  *sigh*.  Again, sounded great, but it all just blends together.  Made it only about halfway through because of how late everything was running.  I can tolerate these guys a song or two at a time, but that’s it 🤷‍♂️.

 

 

Edited by mrewest
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DAY 2

 

Missed Doktra except for the last song but it sounded heavy & worth checking out.

 

Girih:  May have been my favorite set of the weekend due to no expectations ahead of time.  Checked them out a little bit ahead of time but not enough to form much of an opinion.  But for 3 dudes with ZERO actual bass guitar, their sound was sooooo heavy & really everything you could want from heavy post-rock.  Snagged their record because of course.

 

Circus Trees:  These KIDS are literally 13-16 yrs old, & only a 3-piece.  I’m not into the vocals at all unfortunately (very very monotone), but instrumentally it was slow & sludgy & heavy & pretty great.  It’s crazy to me that kids could make music like this.  Will keep them on the radar at the very least.

 

Hotel Neon:  All ambient, which I was digging for the first half but got tired of it after that.  Pure ambient bands ALL SOUND EXACTLY THE SAME to me.

 

SOM:  Another banger of a set.  The dude kind of sounds like the guy from Spotlights.  I dug them & grabbed their tape.

 

Driving Slow Motion:  Arguably my 2nd favorite performance.  Gumbo nailed the description.  Standard post-rock at times but in small enough doses mixed with a perfect amount of ambient & even a sprinkle of post-metal.   The lighting for this band was PERFECT & really complimented the mood their music had.  I spoke with the “lead guy” at the merch table & said they’re all really into cinematic scores & try to let that influence their writing.  You can definitely tell.

 

Wander:  Man I definitely feel like I’m in the minority on these guys.  They fall into the Ranges/PFS category of having great energy but their songs do absolutely nothing for me.  Even before I knew they were a “hot” band that was on everyone’s radar, I had the same sentiments after listening to their new album.  It’s just faster paced post-rock that never goes anywhere.  Oh well, can’t like them all.

 

I/O:  I was getting a bit restless at this point waiting for the meat of the performances yet to come so I was tuning most of this set out.  They sounded good, but nothing stuck with me.

 

Life and Times:  Another band I had minimal experience with but dug what I heard.  Hard to really categorize them.  Indie rock/post-rock?  I dunno.  Either way, the drummer put on the single best performance by any one musician this weekend.  I was mesmerized by this guy.  I swear half time I wasn’t even hearing anything else because I just couldn’t take my eyes/ears off him.  I’ll need to spend more time with them.

 

Spotlights:  My number 1 “most anticipated” of the weekend & my God they delivered.  I can totally get why someone like Gumbo wouldn’t be into them.  I know you dig the more melodic Ranges/Wander/PFS stuff.  But this band is my shit haha.  Give me all of the explosive bass/drums/riffage possible.  They’re like a sludgy-post Deftones in which their riffs are nothing crazy but they are so unreal heavy I just can’t get enough.  Watching this tiny-ass lady just absolutely annihilate the universe with her bass is next level incredible.  It’s like listening to an earthquake.

 

Holy Fawn:  Everyone knows HF.  Everyone loves HF.  And they are just a dominating presence live.  I actually agree with Gumbo about them truly being the next big band.  The first song ended, “Dark Stone”, & the crowd was in awe.

 

EOTO:  I was so bleeping tired at this point but I can’t bring myself to miss them even though I’ve seen them at least half a dozen times.  And I’ve shared my thoughts before & they still hold.  One of the best PR bands live.

 

Unfortunately I couldn’t make it through another set.  I wanted to catch O’Brother but was too tired.

 

 

Overall it was awesome.  Hard to compare with Dunk because both were unique in their own ways.  But I’m already looking forward to 2020.

 

 

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On 10/7/2019 at 12:56 PM, mrewest said:

Agree with @Gumbo72203 on hoping more peeps start coming out to these fests.  It’s just awesome getting a full weekend of this music.  I’ll have to lay out my thoughts on the bands later because I definitely echo some of what Gumbo says but also have much differing opinions on some!  

I wouldn't have it any other way ;)


Also, Pray For Sound dropped a music video for another new song.  This material is so freaking good.  Dancey post-rock like Leech and Barrows.  CANNOT GET ENOUGH.  Sorry Evan XD XD XD.  Also, I think your description of why you like Spotlights is why I don't like Russian Circles or Pelican.  Low end riffs with no melody or atmosphere just doesn't do it for me.  I grew up on Pink Floyd.  I need the mind-melting sonics haha. 

 

Anyway, take it away Bruce...
 



 

 

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7 minutes ago, Gumbo72203 said:

 Also, I think your description of why you like Spotlights is why I don't like Russian Circles or Pelican. 

 

 

I totally meant to say that it all makes sense because I know you aren’t as into those bands.

 

Which side note:  I suppose it’s weird that I’m not into Pelican at all (other than some moments on the new one admittedly).  I suppose I just never felt like they had “good heavy riffs”.  It’s all just kind of “there” & don’t stick in your brain.  Not the case with Spotlights nor RC.  

 

Seriously, put this on & crank to 11.  Shit gets me jacked haha.

 

 

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16 hours ago, mrewest said:

I totally meant to say that it all makes sense because I know you aren’t as into those bands.

 

Which side note:  I suppose it’s weird that I’m not into Pelican at all (other than some moments on the new one admittedly).  I suppose I just never felt like they had “good heavy riffs”.  It’s all just kind of “there” & don’t stick in your brain.  Not the case with Spotlights nor RC.  

 

Seriously, put this on & crank to 11.  Shit gets me jacked haha.

 

 

I enjoyed that, but mostly because it gave some ornamentation around the pummeling low end.  That was fun though!

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After reading your reports from this festival, I realized I hardly know any of those bands. Can't believe how much music I do overlook nowadays, especially taking into account that huge part of my vinyl is post-rock. Seems like I have to refresh this shelf with new tunes after I got tired a bit with "generic post-rock" and "try to find new way with electronics" bands I have known. Thanks for this!

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2 hours ago, mrewest said:

Holy Fawn tests for sale.  2 left.  About $113 shipped tho

 

https://holyfawn.bandcamp.com/album/death-spells-eu-vinyl

i forgot to ask Ryan at the festival about the remaster.  He got at me on FB and basically said that "this one is better in every way" - made in a better plant, better quality vinyl, had it properly remastered by this one dude who's name I'm now forgetting to match THEIR master of Death Spells, full lyrics printed, etc etc.  Gonna be hopping on the /250 before it sells out. 

It's amazing because the Holy Roar press doesn't sound bad to me, so this new one must be killer. 

 

9 hours ago, seku said:

After reading your reports from this festival, I realized I hardly know any of those bands. Can't believe how much music I do overlook nowadays, especially taking into account that huge part of my vinyl is post-rock. Seems like I have to refresh this shelf with new tunes after I got tired a bit with "generic post-rock" and "try to find new way with electronics" bands I have known. Thanks for this!

What bands are unfamiliar to you?

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If you are into bands like AmenRa, Cult of Luna and in general post-metal with a bit of hard-core, check Guantanamo Party Program.

You may stream all of their albums on bandcamp:

https://guantanamopartyprogram.bandcamp.com/

 

And if you are into fancy cassette tapes boxsets, check this thread:

 

One pic as a teaser:

iii-small.jpg

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So, I feel like you're all going to want this.  Side project of TRNA and Somn.  Really hitting the spot for me right now. 

https://olhava.bandcamp.com/album/olhava

 

 

Also, since this is the place I mostly hang out, if any of you are at all curious to hear what kind of music I make, my band's debut album is coming soon on 11/2 and I made a thread.  It's absolutely got post-rock, shoegaze, and all other kinds of spacey sounds all over it.  Here's the thread in case you're curious -

 

Edited by Gumbo72203
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6 hours ago, Gumbo72203 said:

So, I feel like you're all going to want this.  Side project of TRNA and Somn.  Really hitting the spot for me right now. 

https://olhava.bandcamp.com/album/olhava

 

 

Also, since this is the place I mostly hang out, if any of you are at all curious to hear what kind of music I make, my band's debut album is coming soon on 11/2 and I made a thread.  It's absolutely got post-rock, shoegaze, and all other kinds of spacey sounds all over it.  Here's the thread in case you're curious -

 

I’m assuming Pray For Sound meets Shy, Low & Phish 😉 😉 

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3 hours ago, mrewest said:

I’m assuming Pray For Sound meets Shy, Low & Phish 😉 😉 

That's not terribly far off XD XD

 

bring it to the other thread!

Also, in case anybody cares - I'm trying to unload some stuff cheaply because i need to pay for school exams. 

Glasir - New Dark Age (std ed.) - $25ppd

Silent Whale - Requiem (2nd press) - $25ppd

 

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On 10/19/2019 at 9:47 AM, Gumbo72203 said:

So, I feel like you're all going to want this.  Side project of TRNA and Somn.  Really hitting the spot for me right now. 

https://olhava.bandcamp.com/album/olhava

 

 

Also, since this is the place I mostly hang out, if any of you are at all curious to hear what kind of music I make, my band's debut album is coming soon on 11/2 and I made a thread.  It's absolutely got post-rock, shoegaze, and all other kinds of spacey sounds all over it.  Here's the thread in case you're curious -

 

I listened to that Olhava album the other day when it went up. It’s pretty dang good. 
 

I’ll be sure to check out your track tomorrow. 

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