SotW 12/17/12: O'Brother - Lay Down

Artist: O'Brother
Song: Lay Down
Album: Garden Window

It's not super often that a song hits me as insanely hard as this one did, so when these times do come I cherish them. I highly recommend that you get the entire album from Atlanta post-rock/alternative/post-hardcore/IDevenK band O'Brother, as nearly every song on here is excellent, but "Lay Down" is truly something else, and it may be one of the single greatest rock songs I've ever heard. Everything form the impassioned vocal performance to the absolutely massive guitar tone to the impeccably timed builds and releases of tension is the closest to perfect that it could ever be, and idgaf holy shitballs this song is incredible.

The Pirate Ship Quintet - Rope For No-Hopers (2012)

Artist: The Pirate Ship Quintet
Album: Rope For No-Hopers
Country: UK (Bristol)
Release Date: May 25th, 2012
Genre: Post-rock w/ mild screamo influences

With their debut full-length, Bristol post-rockers The Pirate Ship Quintet join contemporaries Leech, Black Clouds, Godspeed You! Black Emperor, and a few others as artists who have released truly exemplary post-rock this year. It's not anything really new or groundbreaking, largely influenced by the string-heavy, crescendo-based, classically-influenced brand of post-rock played by acts like Godspeed You! Black Emperor and Yndi Halda, but it's pulled off so well that you won't really care about its lack of originality. That's not to say that this has *all* been done before, however: there are some mild screamo influences at work here, and a few brief sections with harsh vocals.

Sample song, tracklist, and link can be found after the jump. 

REVIEW: Leech - if we get there one day, would you please open the gates? (2012)

Artist: Leech
Album: if we get there one day, will you please open the gates?
Country: Switzerland
Release Date: March 2nd, 2012
Genre: Post-rock

Description: With the perfect blend of atmosphere, exhilaration, dynamics, and emotion, "if we get there one day..." is one of the year's strongest and most woefully underappreciated post-rock gems.

Review, tracklist, sample song, and link are after the jump. 

SotW 10/29/12: Deafheaven - Punk Rock/Cody (Mogwai cover)

Artist: Deafheaven
Song: Punk Rock/Cody (Mogwai cover)
Album: Split w/ Bosse-De-Nage (2012)

It's rare that a band puts out a cover that honors the original, creates something completely new, and becomes something utterly brilliant, but this Mogwai cover from Bay Area metallers Deafheaven does just that. Translating a classic post-rock track into an epic slice of atmospheric black metal is an idea that could have gone so very wrong so very quickly, but this song, bleeding as much emotion as anything other original black metal track in the past few years (largely due to the always-excellent vocals of George Clark), does absolutely everything right. It goes between the expected doom-paced sections that sound exactly what you'd expect a metal cover of a post-rock band to sound like, more furious metal sections, and peaceful periods of pure post-rock bliss, all combining to create what is easily the best cover of the year, if not one of its best songs period.

SotW 07/15/12: Funeral Diner - I Was the Sword

Artist: Funeral Diner
Song: I Was the Sword
Album: Split 9" w/ Ampere (2007)

One of the single most unfortunate occurrences in the world of screamo was when NorCal-based band Funeral Diner called it quits in 2007. In 2005, they had released The Underdark, which was, in my opinion, one of the genre's absolute finest exaples of post-rock tinged screamo, and their final split shows that they could only go up from there. I Was the Sword is a nearly perfect track: passionate, brooding, dark, technically proficient, and incredibly emotional. This is one of those bands for which I would give a kidney to see a reunion and a new album.

SotW 07/09/12: Jakob - Malachite

Artist: Jakob
Song: Malachite
Album: Solace (LP 2006)

Jakob are often hailed as one of the best, if not the best, active band in post-rock, and for good reason. Although they are entirely instrumental, they eschew the stereotypical twinkly crescendo-ridden output of more well-known acts like Explosions in the Sky or Mono, instead opting for a contemplative, sometimes heavy, and simultaneously bleak and hopeful approach to an increasingly stale genre. It's hard to describe through words, so I'd just recommend that you listen to Malachite, one of their best songs.

Also, their production is nothing short of Godly.

OT Has Not Been (Completely) Forgotten

Hey, so I am aware that it has been months since I've done anything with this. This is not the first time this has happened to me: in the past, on at least three separate occasions I have had the great idea of making a blog that I was utterly devoted to for a few days, after which I promptly forgot its existence. A variety of factors (yes, including laziness) have prevented me from updating Obsidian Tides, but I do not want this blog to forever go to the grave of forgotten projects that exists on my blogger page. Just know that I actually do plan on regularly updating this from now on. hopefully expanding it and sharing plenty of awesome music with whoever cares to listen.

Until I get back home tomorrow, please treat yourself to a soothing song by the best active band in post-rock.