The Pax Cecilia - Blessed are the Bonds (2007)

Like the last post, this album belongs on a plateau of good things to come from post-rock in the last few years. Most of the more underground Urban Outfitter-inclined music fans have heard it, and it's probably even somehow overrated by those same rabid groups, but fuck me if this really isn't essential in some way or another. I'm definitely exaggerating, but take that last sentence with only half a grain of salt. Blessed are the Bonds is a fantastic album, chock full of strained passages and the kind of desperation only a dying non-theist knows.

One difference to note between this album and the last, however, is that they're almost complete opposites of one another. These Monsters... was relatively subdued, particularly in the climaxes, while this one thrives on them and emerges from "The Hymn" with the "Most Intense Post-Rock Album" award. For anyone who loves post-rock with tons of experimental and ambient flourishes, and maybe a dash of that screaming stuff.

@320: Part 1 & Part 2

These Monsters... - These Monsters... (2006)

These Monsters... is, at least to me, one of the better things to emerge from the post-rock genre in the last few years, albeit one with an unusual vibe. Every track brings to mind something in-between weird dreamscapes and green oceans: it can't decide on whether it wants to soothe or cause trouble. It could be the electronica-tinged percussion, or the Deku horn-like saxophone riffing its way into your nightmares. Either way, they're both completely at odds with the never-relieved and ever-flowing pace of the music itself. Yeah, that's it. Flow is something this album has too much of. The climaxes aren't particularly climactic, but they just keep going, and flowing, anyway, without consent.

For anyone who loves mood-setters and the more brooding types of post-rock. I would say steer clear of sunny days with this one, but nah. You decide.

Note: Two-second gap between tracks 1 and 2. It bothers me too.

@256

Devil Sold His Soul - A Fragile Hope (2007)

Intense, down-tempo post-hardcore (though verging on post-rock-styled screamo) from London. Definitely one of those albums that can be almost mind-numbingly heavy whilst firmly maintaining a delicate atmosphere. Recommended to any fans of heavy music, and a half-sincere "I swear it doesn't bite!" to anyone else.

Note: The first and second tracks on this album both make imagining stormed WWII-era beaches that much easier. Using a corpse as a lifeboat doesn't come until track 3. The last track is just a liar.

(Removed. Sorry guys.)