It may have started with Hex or Pure, Impure, but I give credit to Radiohead for bringing so-called post rock to the masses. In retrospect, I’d never have imagined a record as surreal, dour, and uncompromising as OK Computer to have been such a huge mainstream success. Heck, the lead single was a 7-minute track without a chorus.
Yet it was a success. In its wake, bands like Tortoise and Sigur Rós found mainstream exposure, and what we called “progressive rock” in the 1970’s was suddenly worth pursuing again.
Fortunately, we’ve dispensed with the 15-minute drum solos, the sequined pants, and the Hobbits. Modern progressive rock is more concerned with pursuing texture and unorthodox structure. Isis prove that heavy metal doesn’t have to be stupid, and Mastodon gleefully prove that it can be darned smart while keeping tongue firmly in cheek.
Then there are the sensitive kids doing instrumental guitar rock sans noodly guitar solos. Mogwai and Explosions in the Sky are good examples. So are Sleepmakeswaves. When a group writes a near-metal instrumental and names it after a Hiroshima victim, you know a bit of what you’re in for.
The thing is, they’re good at it. Really good. Until recently, they’ve been big fish in the little pond that is Sydney, but they’re starting to get mainstream exposure. This is their first proper record.
They’ve done a few EP’s, but this is a better, more natural sounding recording. There are tons of little touches in the production that suggest they really labored over the final product (notice the sly nod to “Airbag” in “To You They Are Birds, To Me They Are Voices in the Forest”). Their sense of melody is distinct enough that short, electronic dominated tracks like “We Like You When You’re Awkward” don’t seem out of character, and “(Hello) Cloud Mountain” shows they can do succinct pop songs.
The field is crowded with guitar bands doing the soft-loud-soft cinematic stuff, but what separates Sleepmakeswaves is a certain maturity and craftsmanship. This isn’t the most unique thing you’ll hear this year, but it’s a great record in its own right, and one that sticks in your head long after it’s finished.
This record is available from their site, as is their self-titled EP.