Am Fost La Munte Și Mi-a Plăcut - I Went to the Mountain (2025)

The Romanian post-rockers are one of my favorite bands making the melodic, guitar-heavy kind of the genre (can you tell by the number of times they already appeared on this blog?). And now as the blog is back and the band is back with a new album, we both meet so I can enjoy the well-crafted essence of the post-rock fun.

The band's fifth album shows their evolution towards more progressive sounds with the strong "inclination towards a barefaced, riff-led take on the music [the band] love". The artists also point at some post-metal and stoner elements in their compositions, but I'd say they are not that noticeable to me. I still feel like the focus on the melodies and the love for what the guitars can do is predominant in their music (even if it's slightly heavier). Good, that's what I like about them. 

There is one change I noticed and I don't like. The titles of the tracks (and the album as well, translating part of their head-scratching band name) are now in English. I'm not sure about that. I like the mystery the Romanian ones delivered each time I listened to their albums, but I guess the artists wanted to be more approachable for the "normal" listeners. Nevertheless, a solid album filled with well-balanced tracks.

I Went to the Mountain costs 10 USD.

Check: We Hold Each Other at Current 

Country: Romania

Genre: guitar post-rock

Label: dunk!records

Am Fost La Munte Și Mi-a Plăcut - La Vale (2022)

Am Fost La Munte Și Mi-a Plăcut - La Deal (2019)

Am Fost La Munte Și Mi-a Plăcut - S​-​a Rezolvat. Nu Se Poate.(2017)

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Am Fost La Munte Și Mi-a Plăcut - La Vale (2022)

The "Romanian post-rock band about going up mountains and enjoying oneself" (that mostly describes their iconic name) is back with more music! Their last album, La Deal, accompanied me when I was on my way to the last dunk!festival when the Romanians played as well; the new one, La Vale, made coming back from this year's dunk! easier.

And the two albums are really very much connected - not only the album covers suggest it, the first one's title translates to "Uphill", the second's to "Downhill". But the sound of La Vale doesn't feel like going down, really. The band is fluent in creating impressive and very guitar-oriented compositions that more often than not end with monumental crescendos (thus it is still more like going upwards than downwards imo). The music here feels heavy but also fast at the same time (which is so well-audible in Nu Mai Comandăm De La Ăștia), like a speeding train that can't brake so easily even if the driver wants to. Having said that, the Romanians' most characteristic ability is probably writing the instrumental composition in one of the most melodic ways I know within the genre.

La Vale costs 10 USD.

Am Fost La Munte Și Mi-a Plăcut - La Deal (2019)

Check: Nu Mai Comandăm De La Ăștia

Country: Romania

Genre: guitar post-rock

Label: SWANBOY Music

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Am Fost La Munte Și Mi-a Plăcut - La Deal (2019) EN

Guitar post-rock in Romania is in good shape. Just recently I posted about the great album by Valerinne and now I had a pleasure to listen to the second album in the discography of Am Fost La Munte Și Mi-a Plăcut - La Deal. The band, what's worth stressing, will soon be playing at the biggest Euopean post-rock gathering at the Dunk! Festival in Belgium.

So it's very guitar and very lively. The Romanians main focus is playing instrumental and diverse melodies with ever changing pace. It's well audible in Setraiti Sanatate, Serviciusor with its almost delicate first part and the second - filled with aggressive energy. Also Suprafata Utila offers some super interesting composition choices and wonderful atmosphere, especially that it is the only one track here designed for giving some rest. The band soon come back to their style in the raw-guitar-oriented Am Adus Bautura, Fetelor and the album's finish in impressive Vedeti Ca Asta E Lunga. Not bad for a band that was created as a post-rock parody.

And of course a photo with the mountains. After all their long name translates into "I was in the mountains and I liked it".

La Deal costs 9 USD.

Am Fost La Munte Și Mi-a Plăcut - S​-​a Rezolvat. Nu Se Poate.(2017) EN

Check: Suprafata Utila

Country: Romania

Genre: guitar post-rock

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Am Fost La Munte Și Mi-a Plăcut - La Deal (2019) PL

Gitarowy post-rock w Rumunii ma się dobrze. Dopiero co pisałem o znakomitym albumie Valerinne, a teraz mam okazję posłuchać drugiego albumu Am Fost La Munte Și Mi-a Plăcut La Deal, zespołu który wkrótce zagra na europejskim post-rockowym spędzie - na festiwalu Dunk! w Belgii.

Jest więc bardzo gitarowo i bardzo żwawo. Rumuni stawiają na instrumentalne zróżnicowane melodie i zmieniające się tempo. Dobrze słychać to w Setraiti Sanatate, Serviciusor z jego nawet delikatną pierwszą częścią i pełną agresywnej energii kontynuacją. Także Suprafata Utila pokazuje kilka ciekawych zabiegów i znakomitą atmosferę, zwłaszcza że to jedyny taki utwór do odpoczynku i kontemplacji. Po chwili zespół wraca do swojego stylu w surowo-gitarowym Am Adus Bautura, Fetelor i efektownie zamykającym płytę Vedeti Ca Asta E Lunga. Nieźle jak na zespół, który powstał aby obśmiać post-rock.

No i oczywiście zdjęcie z górami. W końcu ich długa nazwa tłumaczy się na "Byłem w górach i było fajnie".

La Deal kosztuje 35 złotych (9 USD).

Am Fost La Munte Și Mi-a Plăcut - S​-​a Rezolvat. Nu Se Poate.(2017) PL

Sprawdź: Suprafata Utila

Kraj: Rumunia

Szufladka: guitar post-rock

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Am Fost La Munte Și Mi-a Plăcut - S​-​a Rezolvat. Nu Se Poate.(2017) EN

There is a band, Red Sparowes, known for the habit of naming their post-rock compositions with really long titles, often whole paragraphs of text. A bit shorter are those proposed by the Romanian from Am Fost La Munte Și Mi-a Plăcut (literally: "I climbed the mountain and I loved it") And this is not the only original thing on their new album.

Many albums want to be read as a story, this one definitely is one. And quite uniquely, it is a story of a person, who came from countryside to the capital city, to Bucharest, and then... Yes, what happened then? The album title leaves no doubt. "S​-​a Rezolvat. Nu Se Poate" means as much as "Problem solved. Nothing can be done": the big city guest reaches the ceiling.

The leitmotif of the album is made from reappearing from time to time extracts taken from the Romanian subway announcements It takes us for a very well-planned journey. Not to be misunderstood, the music itself is also the post-rock top league. Even if you could separate the interesting idea behind the album and some original solutions, there'd still be great guitar music that can be both deafening, idle and melancholic. Just like the big city lights.

"S​-​a Rezolvat. Nu Se Poate" costs 9 USD.

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Am Fost La Munte Și Mi-a Plăcut - S​-​a Rezolvat. Nu Se Poate.(2017) PL

Był taki zespół, Red Sparowes, znany z tego, ze swoją post-rockową kompozycję opisywał tytułami. Tytułami, które składały się z całych akapitów tekstu. Trochę krótsze są te proponowane przez Rumunów z Am Fost La Munte Și Mi-a Plăcut (dosłownie "wspiąłem się na górę i byłem tym zachwycony"). A ie jest to jedyna niespodzianka na ich nowym albumie.

Wiele albumów chce być odbierana jako opowieść, ta bez wątpienia nią jest. I wcale oryginalnie, jest to historia człowieka, który z prowincji przyjeżdża do stolicy, do Bukaresztu, i tam, właśnie, co? Tytuł albumu nie pozostawia wątpliwości, "S​-​a Rezolvat. Nu Se Poate" znaczy tyle co "Problem rozwiązany. Nic nie da się zrobić", gość w wielkim mieście odbija się od ściany.

Motywem przewodnim płyty są wplatane w różnych miejscach zwroty rumuńskiej dyspozytorki w metrze. To zabiera nas w podróż doskonale rozplanowaną kompozycyjnie. Żeby nie było niedomówień, sama muzyka to też pierwsza liga post-rocka. Nawet jeśli można by odsiać interesująca ideę czy niespodziewane rozwiązania, wciąż zostają pierwszorzędne gitary to ogłuszające, to kojące, wprawiające w melancholię. Jak światła stolicy.

"S​-​a Rezolvat. Nu Se Poate" kosztuje 33 złote (9 USD).

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