Amber Ambedo - Invierno Ambedo (2025)

Orchestral post-rock will always have the face of GY!BE, but there is a number of smaller bands who want to go in a similar direction of the grand and diversified sounds of post-rock music that could as well be created by a real-life orchestra. One of them, Portland-based Amber Ambedo, has recently released their debut album and it's a debut to remember.

Thank you to my dunk!festival mates who gave me a hint about this band because the merciless algorithms didn't notify me of its existence and I wouldn't know otherwise. The Portlanders make "instrumental music that hits you right in the feels—and then lingers like a dream you can’t quite shake" - a true cinematic post-rock that tells stories without using any words. The compositions are complex, but easy to follow, the pace is not too fast but also far from slow and the instruments include piano and strings which means that I'm immediately sold. What I miss are some passages of real noise cause right now the songs sound like they end before something vital happened, but perhaps not everything has to be the noisiest in history.

On the other hand, I feel like this structural approach to music makes it indeed extremely cinematic. I can see the band performing to one of those silent movies on an event in an old cinema. But, I have to admit, the album sounds terrific also in a lightless room with speakers spitting out the notes into the darkness.

Invierno Ambedo costs 7 USD.

Check: Gathering Light in the Dark

Country: Oregon, US

Genre: orchestral post-rock

:bandcamp:

:facebook:

:instagram:

:soundcloud:

:youtube:

:spotify:

Harbors - When We Are Free (2025)

When two acclaimed neoclassical artists start a new project together, you know it should be good. But when they are also a couple, it's a strong lead that the project will be also very emotional. Hollie and Keith Kenniff created Mint Julep and Meadows before, now they are known as Harbors.

This is my favourite kind of a soundscape: one that feels calm, but also lively. When I know there is many things going on around me, but the whole thing is relaxing and inviting. It's like watching fireflies on a summer night. You are aware that they appear here and there, but it doesn't make the night any less peaceful. And it's the piano keys, they are the fireflies. You have to look for them to appear and then don't lose track of time trying to follow them.

When We Are Free costs 10 USD.

Check: A Portrait of Time

Country: Oregon, US

Genre: lively soundscape

Label: Nettwer Music Group

Hollie Kenniff - For Forever (2024)

:bandcamp:

:facebook (Hollie Kenniff):

:facebook (Helios):
:official:

:instagram:

:soundcloud:

:youtube:

:spotify:

Lazy Legs - Tower (2025)

It's been 8 years (!) since the Oregon band Lazy Legs appeared on this blog with their EP called Chain of Pink. Now, after what seems to be some changes in the line-up, they released their third album and enchanted me with their minimalist yet very airy take on slowcore kind of noise music.

The artists admit to take inspirations from a variety of genres, mixing "shoegaze, grunge, slowcore and doomgaze" into one, moody kind of music. It surely is slow, it's very airy and based on the rougher nature of guitar sounds. It feel also a lot like a letter of admiration to minimalist rock music usually made by duos (I'm thinking The Kills, but maybe it's because I've been listening to them a lot recently). It's maybe because the band now only consists of Laura Wagner and Michael Tenzer while before, there was also Nicholas Piontek playing drums. Regardless of the reasons, the band's music feels now closer to the audience, honest and beautiful in this desert, grunge way.

The rough guitar makes here a beautiful dialog with vocals that are not only made airy. They are literally very often just backing vocals playing the main part of the song. It makes the compositions well-balanced but also very, very dreamy regardless of the heaviness of the music. 

Tower costs 5 USD.

Check: Rot

Country: Oregon, US

Genre: shoegazey slowcore

Label: Wild Patterns

Lazy Legs - Chain of Pink (2017)

:bandcamp:

:facebook:

:instagram:

:soundcloud:

:youtube:

:spotify:

Amulets - Not Around but Through (2025)

This is not ambient electronica for easily startled people. The Oregon soundscapes icon brought the next album in his discography this year and filled it with an ambitious take on ambient music: it can be overwhelming, it can feel heavy, but it is always as beautiful and emotionally marked as possible.

The album explores the "process of acceptance and the tumultuous journey of looking within" with mesmerizing soundscapes that may sound nice and kind at the start, but soon enough evolve into a slow-motion avalanche of organ-like noise. A beautiful one too. And this is a common pattern on the album. The music here is a curious kaleidoscope of genres including drones and post-rock and almost anything you can imagine.

And ambient pop. And when Midwife borrows some of her fuzzy magic to an album, you know it has to be good.

Not Around but Through costs 10 USD.

Check: Myriads

Country: Oregon, US

Genre: heavy soundscape

Label: Beacon Sound

:bandcamp:

:facebook:
:official:

:instagram:

:youtube:

:spotify:

Drowse - Wane Into It (2022)

Floating Room's Kyle Bates is better known as Drowse as his ambient shoegaze project is well-established on the off music stage already. It's time for his sixth album already and Wane Into It may well be the best release under this moniker.

This is the subtlest of noise music kinds. Bates is really good at toning everything down to the necessary minimum without losing anything from the dense, murky atmosphere. His warm vocals lead the way here, channeling melodies and enchant the audience. But it is stil all about the music in the backgrounds: the softest of noise, the darkest of ambient, very skillfully put together to create an ambient-pop dreamy set of moody tracks that can feel as cozy as apocalyptic; hopeful and hopeless at the same time. The artist emphasizes how important it is to listen to his music through headphones and given all that happens in the barely audible sequences, it really is a must-do. 

Wane Into It costs 8 USD.

Check: Untrue in Headphones

Country: Oregon, US

Genre: ambient noise pop

Label: The Flenser

:bandcamp:

:facebook:
:official:

:instagram:

:spotify:

Animal Ghosts - Wallow (2022)

There's few artists who can create shoegaze's noisy and thick atmosphere right while working solo. One of them certainly is Animal Ghosts who, after his EP last December, released the fifth album in his career and it's all we love about his music.

The multi-layered noise of shoegaze balanced with extremely dispersed vocals is what we are here for. And the Portland artist delivers, as always. I loved his last EP and he doesn't seem to go beneath a certain quality level. Which is very high if I can add. The guitars here feel like proper shoegaze - not only because of the noise they generate, they feel like a love letter to the classic shoegaze of the 90s. I compared him with Ceremony last time I posted about his music here and it still feels that the level of the  noisy fun is similar. The guitar effects (like the ones in the title track Wallow) certainly feel nostalgic but there are some quite unique parts like the drums solo in Sugar. However, the main thing about this album is showing how catchy a noisy shoegaze can be.

Wallow costs 7 USD.

Animal Ghosts - Wake (2021)

Check: Wallow 

Country: Oregon, US

Genre: classic shoegaze

:bandcamp:

:facebook:

:instagram:

:soundcloud:

:spotify:

Heather Woods Broderick - Domes (2022)

Heather Woods Broderick is a multi-instrumentalist and a singer from Portland. The artist worked together with such artists as Horse Feathers, Efterklang, and Nils Frahm, and while listening to her music, it's hardly a surprise. The beautiful and very melancholic soundscapes she creates fill the new album called Domes.

Although cello is not Broderick's main instrument, this album is filled with compositions based on its sounds. It helped the artist through the pandemics times when she was in "need to find moments of respite in response to the chaotic and turbulent times we all faced in that period". And so the whole album is all about transferring this into the audience with the use of looped pieces that are to mesmerize the listener and drive them into this contemplating state that can sonically heel almost anything.

Domes costs 7 EUR.

Check: Tor

Country: Oregon, US

Genre: cello soundscape

Label: Dauw

:bandcamp:

:facebook:
:official:

:instagram:

:spotify:

Darkfield - Reanimated Voices (2022)

Joey Westerlund already appeared on this blog two years ago with his album Carry Us Away. This year it's time for the third position in his discography with the new release called Reanimated Voices.

His solo post-rock music is based on the rough electric guitar sounds that contrast the very prog rock-like keyboard tunes. It's both dark and rocky and beautiful at the same time. The main theme for the album is said to be mental health, "emotions you feel or "voices" that you hear during various moments and periods of your life" - according to the artist's words. As the title of the first song suggests: it's all about chemicals, but the complex structures of the compositions on the album hint that there's way more to the topic. As in Copacetic where the attractive key notes are being devoured by very satisfying and loud guitars only to soon get back to the calm in Divided. However, the most interesting things happen towards the end of the album with Control's very modern feel and World Eater's satisfying crescendo.

Reanimated Voices costs 8 USD.

Darkfield - Carry Us Away (2020)

Check: World Eater

Country: Oregon, US

Genre: prog post-rock

:bandcamp:

:facebook:

:instagram:

:spotify:

Animal Ghosts - Wake (2021)

The Portland-based solo artist known as Animal Ghosts has already four LPs in his discography (and three of them were released in 2020 alone). But the one that brings him to my blog, is his December EP called Wake.

This is some traditional extremely noisy take on dreamy music. "Extremely" being the key word here as the artist's music sounds like something Ceremony or A Place to Bury Strangers would be proud of. Short and lively songs that would be melodic if it wasn't for the omnipresent, ear-overwhelming guitar noise that can be felt in your brain as a tangible, coarse haze. The MBV-like sound effects feel it with intriguing vibes while the airy vocals flow through the noise with beautiful ease. I especially like when the artist lets the stream of guitar sounds go uninterrupted, especially well-done in my favourite track here, Drift. It's basically a psychedelic trance infused by abusive noise. I love it.

Wake costs 3 USD.

Check: Drift

Country: Oregon, US

Genre: extreme noise rock

 

:bandcamp:

:facebook:

:instagram:

:soundcloud:

:spotify:

Nate Wey - Lost Realities (2021)

Nate Wey's single appeared on this blog already back in September '18 and it's hard to believe that the solo debut LP of Souvenir Driver's vocalist is released only now, three years into the future. His signature dreamy atmosphere and warm vocals prove that it was worth waiting for.

His music is a blend of slow, almost acoustic-like indie pop-rock with ethereal atmosphere, making me think of Rey Villalobos and his House of Wolves in the more peaceful parts. The compositions here are driven by Way's soft, whispering-like vocals and subtly noisy guitars in the backgrounds. But the most impressive here is the artist's ability to write catchy and captivating melodies: songs like Suddenly Tamed, Dark Fountain and the beautiful ballad Ghost Station are what stays with you after the album finishes.

Given the moody but also emotional vibes present in his music, it's no wonder he sings about romance, break-ups but also apocalypse. The latter is very tangible in those rare moments when Wey's music gets louder and more rock-like, changes of pace like this are always surprising and slightly terrifying, however, it means there's no way to get bored with the artist's music. And talking about emotions, I have not heard in a long time a song as emotional as No Harm No Faul, this tragic break-up song is such a tear-jerking anthem someone like Paragraphs could sing. Beautiful.

Lost Realities costs 7 USD.

Souvenir Driver - Brace Yourself (2017) EN

Check: Ghost Station

Country: Oregon, US

Genre: emotional dream pop

:bandcamp:

:instagram:

:spotify:

gloomchurch - Matching Luck (2021)

Gloomchurch are from Portland and they make their own take on the very noisy rock from the 90s. The band consists of experienced artists but this is only their second EP together and Matching Luck makes a great addition to the shoegazey music worldwide.

Their list of influences is long and involves the likes of MBV, Slowdive, Spiritualized and other legends of shoegaze and space rock. No wonder that this album is like a love letter to the 90s airy music, there's everything one would associate them with: light melodies with uplifting, though withdrawn and distorted vocals accompanied by the omnipresent guitar noise that is even more beautiful than the vocals. It brings a lot of shoegaze's mesmerizing heaviness that is not only fantastic but also imposes those nostalgic and simply sad vibes on the otherwise fun compositions. I love the depth and quality of this noise, especially in flintheart glomgold, the track with the catchiest chorus and the most dense psychedelic atmosphere here.

Matching Luck costs 8 USD.

Check: flintheart glomgold

Country: Oregon, US

Genre: noisy nugaze

Label: watercollectivetransmissions

:bandcamp:

:facebook:

:instagram:

:spotify:

Mint Julep - In A Deep And Dreamless Sleep (2021)

The Oregon-based duo Mint Julep has an already-established name within the dream pop music scene. It's Keith (a member of Sono but better known probably as Helios) and Hollie Kenniff who together make this very ethereal and very electronic haze of music. They have released already 5 albums (including last year's Stray Fantasies) but 2021's In A Deep And Dreamless Sleep may be their best yet imho.

The music here is so subtle, the melodies so intangible that in some parts it's closer to ambient pop than dream pop. Hollie's vocals flow somewhere in the background, very often completely drowning within the vast but peaceful sea of electronica (in tracks like Longshore Drift or Shores being basically ambient soundscapes) and supported by airy backing vocals that create the most ethereal experience in the finish of Lure. The amount of the dreaminess on this albums is truly impressive.

The electronica becomes more prominent (and beautiful) in Pulse, a song based on, well, a pulsating phrase that is both unnerving and completely mesmerizing. It's such a shame it doesn't last twice as long (or more). This may be applied to most of the tracks actually, they do such a good job in creating this trance-inducing synth passages that a listener could get lost in for hours but they finish after a disappointingly short time. Still, better to have loved and lost...

In A Deep And Dreamless Sleep costs 10 USD.

Check: Pulse

Country: Oregon, US

Genre: ambient dream pop

Label: Western Vinyl

:bandcamp:

:facebook:

:instagram:

:spotify:

Last Ice - Last Ice (2021)

Last Ice is a combination of two shoegazey bands: Bloody Knives and We Are Parasols. While I don't know much about the latter, the Texans of the former have been one of those fresh and very good takes on nugaze. Together with their Oregon and Georgia-based counterparts, they master this even more to such an extent that their debut album Last Ice seems to easily be one of the best shoegaze releases of the year.

This is clearly not just indie rock with noisy add-ons, it's shoegaze in its best, one that combines Slowdive's delicateness with MBV's mystery, one that sounds like homogeneous sea of powerful sound but at the same time pampers the audience with the quality of lulling sounds. The combination of two bands, among other things, results in having two vocals: very dream pop-like, subtle male one and the second, female, folk-like airy, sounding as if Enya decided to leave her castles and start a shoegaze band. And the latter provide what can be described as the uniqueness factor for this project. They don't sound like anything I know.

They do, however, tend to get lost within the overpowered guitar and synths-based backgrounds. On the other hand, the longer the album goes, the more electronic and trippy the music gets. So Curse is barely shoegaze anymore, more of ethereality-rich electronica of the best kind while Disease is perfectly trip-hoppy trip-hop. Until in the end it finishes with a gothic and industrial wierdo called, obviously, End.

Last Ice costs 8 USD.

Check: Chains

Country: Texas/Oregon/Georgia, US

Genre: ethereal nugaze

Label: No Movement Records

:bandcamp:

:facebook (Bloody Knives):

:facebook (We Are Parasols):
:official:

:spotify:

Coastlands - Death (2020) PL

O zespole z Portland w tym roku jest już bardzo, nomen omen, głośno. A przecież dopiero teraz wydali swój long-play! Zdążyli się do tej pory pokazać we współpracy z Pillars czy Between Silence ale dopiero jesienna płyta, piąta w dorobku, sytuuje post-rockowców z Oregonu na ścisłym podium tegorocznych dokonań w obrębie gatunku.

Death to przede wszystkim szalona jakość dźwięku. Słuchając tej płyty można niemal dotknąć każdego pojedynczego dźwięku, a całość wpycha się do duszy jak rozpędzona ciężarówka. Porównanie nieprzypadkowe bo muzyka Amerykanów jest zdecydowanie z kategorii ciężkiej, gitarowa zawierucha bardziej pasuje do post-metalowej agresji choć wciśniętej tutaj w gorset post-rockowych kompozycji, podobnie jak szalone perkusje. Kilka momentów na płycie oferuje z drugiej strony eteryczne wytchnienie chociaż ono bywa złudne. Zaraz po tym jak w Dead Friends anielskie chórki zagęszczają i spowalniają atmosferę, do gry wchodzą wściekłe, post-hardcore'owe wokale, a to zdecydowanie potrafi rozruszać nawet tak energetyczną płytę jak ta.

Na płycie, która nie jest przecież szalenie długa, znajduje się kilka prawdziwych hiciorów: Feverwind, Red Smoke Flare, singlowy Lay Waste z bardzo charakterystycznym głównym motywem i w końcu bardzo udany finisz w Marrow. Świetna płyta.

Death kosztuje 39 złotych (10 USD).

Coastlands - Milieu Archives : Two (2016) PL

Sprawdź: Red Smoke Flare

Kraj: Oregon, US

Szufladka: dark post-rock

:bandcamp:

:facebook:

:spotify:

Coastlands - Death (2020) EN

It's been already quite, nomen est omen, loud about the Portland-based band this year already but they only now released their LP! They managed to show their brand in co-operations with Pillars and Between Silence but it's the autumn album, the fifth one int heir discography, that situates the Oregon post-rockers in this year's first row of the genre's releases.

Death, first of all, means an insane quality of sound. When listening to the album, you could almost touch each single sound while the whole thing makes its way to your soul like a speeding truck. The comparison is not as weird as it seems as the music here definitely belongs to the heavy category, guitar turmoil is closer to the post-metal aggression, however squeezed into a corset of post-rock compositions, the same goes for the rabid drums. A couple of moments on the album offer some airy break on the other hand, still, it's a very deceptive feeling. A second after in Dead Friends angelic backing vocals dense up and slow down the atmosphere, the track is broken with mad, post-hardcore vocals that are able to liven up even so energetic album like this one.

There's quite a number of potential hits on this, not insanely long album, including Feverwind, Red Smoke Flare, the single track Lay Waste with its characteristic leitmotif and a very well-done finish in Marrow. Great album.

Death costs 10 USD.

Coastlands - Milieu Archives : Two (2016) EN

Check: Red Smoke Flare

Country: Oregon, US

Genre: dark post-rock

:bandcamp:

:facebook:

:spotify:

Cave Cricket - March-May 2020 (2020) PL

Domowy ambient nagrany, jak sam tytuł wskazuje, w czasie pandemicznego lockdownu - to jest nowa płyta artystki z Portland znanej jako Cave Cricket.

Płyta-zbiór prac z kilku miesięcy zaczyna się pomiędzy dronującymi soundscape'ami a delikatny ambient. Motywem przewodnim wydaje się być natura jak zjawiska pogodowe (Storm's Coming), czy morze (Making Space). Z czasem w muzyce artystki robi się głośniej, tak jak w elektroniczno-industrialnym Mystical i generalnie intensywniejszą drugą częścią płyty.

Bez wątpienia jest to zróżnicowany materiał, który artystka przeznacza do powolnej kontemplacji. Jak sama pisze: "wyobrażam sobie, że ludzie będą jej słuchali i odpływali siedząc cicho ze słuchawkami albo może na zewnątrz na podwórku albo w swoich ulubionych, wygodnych miejscach", stąd hipnotyczne, powolne dźwięki sączące się z głośników, chociaż nie zgadzam się, że zawsze są uspokajające.

March-May 2020 kosztuje tyle, ile chcesz zapłacić.

Sprawdź: Making Space

Kraj: Oregon, US

Szufladka: industrial ambient

:bandcamp:

:facebook:

Cave Cricket - March-May 2020 (2020) EN

Home-made ambient created, as the title suggests, during the pandemic lockdown - this is the new album from the Portland-based artist known as Cave Cricket.

The collection of works from those months starts somewhere between droning soundscapes and delicate ambient. The leitmotif here seems to be nature like weather events (Storm's Coming) or sea (Making Space). With time, the music becomes louder, like in the electronic-industrial Mystical and in general, in the more intense second part of the album

Undoubtedly diverse material which the artist meant for slow contemplating. As she states: "I envision people listening to them/zoning out while sitting quietly with headphones, maybe outside in your yard or your favorite cozy spot", thus the mesmerizing, slow sounds pouring out of the speakers, although I wouldn't say they are always calming.

March-May 2020 costs whatever you want to pay.

Check: Making Space

Country: Oregon, US

Genre: industrial ambient

:bandcamp:

:facebook:

Darkfield - Carry Us Away (2020) EN

Joey Westerlund from Portland is better known as Darkfield, under a moniker of which the post-rocker has just released the second album called Carry Us Away.

I must admit that sometimes his music is too much based on rock-metal riffs for my taste like in Echoes), but in the end, he achieves his goals. Because at the same time he shows the whole range of post-rock music including keys and cinematic massiveness (Halcyon) and non-overwhelming electronics (Phoenix Down) as well as, and this may be the most important thing, impressive noise (Bloom).

The especially exciting part is the album's finish with the loud Ares and exceptionally airy, not to say sacral sounds of the final Back to the Sky. Quality music.

Carry Us Away costs 8 USD.

Check: Phoenix Down

Country: Oregon, US

Genre: solo post-rock

:bandcamp:

:facebook:

:spotify:

Darkfield - Carry Us Away (2020) PL

Joey Westerlund z Portland lepiej znany jest jako Darkfield, w ramach tego projektu post-rockowiec wydał właśnie drugi album zatytułowany Carry Us Away.

Przyznam, ze czasem jego muzyka za bardzo, jak na moje gusta, opiera się na rock-metalowych riffach (chociażby w Echoes), ale summa summarum, i tak wychodzi na jego. Bo oprócz tego artysta pokazuje cały wachlarz post-rockowego grania z klawiszami i kinową podniosłością (Halcyon) i nienarzucającą się elektroniką (Phoenix Down) oraz, a przecież to może nawet najważniejsze, obezwładniającym hałasem (Bloom).

Ekscytująca jest zwłaszcza końcówka z głośnym Ares i nadzwyczaj eterycznym, żeby nie powiedzieć sakralnym w brzmieniu finałowym Back to the Sky. Jakościowe granie.

Carry Us Away kosztuje 30 złotych (8 USD).

Sprawdź: Phoenix Down

Kraj: Oregon, US

Szufladka: solo post-rock

:bandcamp:

:facebook:

:spotify:

Folian/Shifting Harbor - Temenos (2020) PL

Ambientem tygodnia zostaje krótki split dwóch projektów z Portland - Davida Fylstry znanego jako Folian i bardziej zagadkowego Shifting Harbor.

Płytka została stworzona na potrzeby wspólnej trasy obu artystów, w której właśnie się znajdują. Otwiera ją kawałek Fylstry brzmiacy jak soundscape z nawiedzonego przez płaczące dusze domu. Jest ponury, powolny i bardzo nastrojowy. Podobne w wyrazie są też utwory Shifting Harbor, chociaż tutaj muzyka jest masywniejsza, kosmiczna i zarazem wciągająca. Album jest niezłym samplem prezentującym umiejętności obu panów i na pewno jest godny uwagi.

Temenos kosztuje tyle, ile chcesz zapłacić.

Sprawdź: Before It Leaves

Kraj: Oregon, US

Szufladka: horror soundscape

:bandcamp:

:facebook (folian):
:official (folian):