Łabandzi Śpiew: instrumental

czwartek, 5 marca 2026

Los Sara Fontan - Consuelo (2026)

The Spanish duo Sara and Edi (who does look like Taika Waititi in Our Flag Means Death) was part of last year's Pohoda festival's line-up and that's how I got to know them. Their experimental music with unbelievable energy and passion was my personal highlight of the whole event. So when they released an album last month, I knew it needed to be posted about in here.

Like most of their music in general, this album is a them taking a stance against the modern world that makes our lives harder with technocracy, fascination with the right-wing politics and climate change to name just a few terrifying things. The title's "consolation" is found in "small communities that challenge the techno-feudalist logic and propose new hopeful solutions". This album and this music is part of this. The instrumental music made with violin/keyboard sounds that heavily rely on the frantic drums goes from experimental to almost post-rock in matter of seconds and I love it.

The experimental parts are heavily influenced by electronica that is more nerve-shattering than dance-able. But these are mostly introductions to the instrumental passages that are created to make you feel like dancing. It really feels like the human here fights (and wins against) the machine. Even though there are no lyrics, this album works both as a work of music and as an anthem against everything that's wrong around us. To feel it even better, check out the duo live if you have a possibility!

Consuelo costs 9 EUR.

Check: Zapatos, Selfie, Genocidio, Makeup

Country: Spain

Genre: experimental instrumental

:facebook:

Syberia - Statement on Death (2022)

czwartek, 5 lutego 2026

Syberia - Quan tot s'apagui (2026)

When I'm asked about the loudest concert I've ever been to, I mention MBV at OFF Festival and Syberia's gig in a tiny cellar in Kraków, where five guys barely fitting the small stage filled the space with extreme atmospheric noise. I'm ecstatic to listen to their new album that is all about the same glorious experience: the guitar noise that makes you fly.

Quan tot s'apagui (that translates roughly to "When everything goes out") is another album in recent months that is filled with dark and heavy post-rock. Yes, this is the band's signature sound (with Ain't.Care.About.Bullets as one of my very favourite post-rock tracks ever), but it's also a trend that must be fueled with whatever is going on with the world right now. But this darkness is also filled with energy (which usually is not a good sign, but this time it really is). The guitars gallop furiously most of the time, the walls of noise come at you one by one and I just loooove how the drums work here. This music is extreme, doesn't let you breathe even for a second, but it doesn't matter. You only want to breathe the sound.

Coming back to the Kraków concert: some enthusiastic but not very good at geopolitical matters bloke shouted "Viva España!" at the band (with good intentions) to which the artists politely corrected him that they are from Catalonia. And this brings me to the last point about the album: it is their first work in their own language which I respect extremely!

Quan tot s'apagui costs 9.99 EUR.

Check: naixença d'una mort tranquil·la

Country: Catalonia/Spain

Genre: dark post-rock

Label: Moment of Collapse Records

Syberia - Seeds of Change (2019)

środa, 4 lutego 2026

Tethered Hands - How We Live Is How We Die (2026)

I've covered their debut album exactly a year ago, but these guys have a great ability to create new music fast! And here we are, the transatlantic project is now five people in a band (they don't have a picture together though from obvious reasons) and two albums in their discography. Their piano and guitar kind of post-rock is as beautiful as ever and so the ~~project~~ band is one to have your eyes on as this time next year they will probably surprise us with even more great music.

As I mentioned before, pianist Joseph D. E. Phillips (US) (hi, Joseph!) and guitarist Daniel Rickards (UK) created ANOTHER transatlantic pact, but their aim is to create instrumental music despite of the obvious geographical barriers. Like a lot of water between them. Together with three new members (Pascal Normand, Sam Wallis and Joshua Cook), they can now fulfill the dream of becoming a real post-rock band, not just a project. And I think it's noticeable in their music: the complex compositions gained more dimensions while still having the same core values: piano keys as the structure that is complimented by guitar noise.

The artists translate their emotions into instrumental music, making it affect the audience in turn. As Joseph mentions: "We want [the fans] to feel something. We want the hairs to raise on their arms and their eyes to go wide". With the beauty of piano sounds, the ethereal, tear-jerking passages (so well done in Your Mind Is Going (I Can Feel It) and the guitars that ultimately add heaviness to the compositions, I feel like this goal has been reached. Make ŁŚ feel something? Check!

How We Live Is How We Die costs 5 USD.

Check: Ghost of Rochelbel

Country: US/UK/Canada

Genre: piano post-rock

Tethered Hands - Tethered Hands (2025)

środa, 28 stycznia 2026

L.O.E. - Chiaroscuro (2025)

So the post-rock gods decided that at the end of 2025, two British bands released some particularly dark-sounding and awe-inspiring albums. I've covered Civil Service here and now I NEED to drop something about Last of Eden aka L.O.E. Maybe it's the zeitgeist, but if it means that we're going to get so good and poignant albums then... Well, then there is at least one bright side of what's going on.

Another common feature with Civil Service is the main theme of the album, as it is a "cinematic exploration of duality—the contrasts between light and dark, despair and hope". What is so striking about this quotation is that it is all clearly audible in music. The dark-sounding guitars, overwhelming and touching, tell the story that inspired the band, the personal struggles of their bassist who has serious problems with his health, but still makes everything to go on and win against all odds with sheer determination. The heaviness of this music with occasional samples and slower moments is a perfect illustration for what a human existence feels like more often than not.

The band is coming for this year's Dunk!Festival and I'm more than happy to witness this music live. Oh and the aforementioned music gods also decided to have two post-rock albums last year that included the same quotation from Alan Watts (writer, researcher of the Eastern philosophies) with All Is Violent being first in July. So that's fun, isn't it?

Chiaroscuro costs 11 EUR (9 GBP).

Check: I Was Not Magnificent

Country: UK

Genre: dark post-rock

Label: Hopeful Tragedy Records/Fontana North

czwartek, 22 stycznia 2026

Civil Service - DARK /// (2025)

They released their debut album in 2024 and now are following it with the sophomore album or maybe a continuation of the first one. They are from UK, but are not Public Service Broadcasting side project (even if some of the samples suggest so). Civil Service is a band I did not have on my radar, but my post-rock society turned my attention to.

And it's such a good thing they did. The new album begins in the best way possible: with a collaboration with Overhead, the Albatross' Luke Daly on vocals. But even when he leaves the track list, some parallels to my favourite British post-rockers are still audible (the child speaking in Black Giraffes for examples), although this is more classic post-rock than the one featured on I Leave You This. But it's not *THAT* traditional. The beautiful violin soundscapes complimenting the heavy guitars work like charm, the inclusion of samples and vocals enriches the composition while the subtle electronica provides the final touch.

As mentioned already, DARK /// is a continuation of the themes from /// LIGHT, but while the debut album was focused on the humankind's main quest in life: finding something that could be seen as a meaning of existence, the second album "shifts focus to the immovable obstacles in our way". The way the guitars sound feels so dark (Every Beam Of Light Is An Invitation To Death!!!) to me and dark post-rock is what I want. I love this album, if I have found it earlier, it'd certainly make my AOTY charts.

DARK /// costs 8 EUR (7 GBP).

Check: Black Giraffes

Country: UK

Genre: complex post-rock

Label: A Cheery Wave/Ripcord Records

:youtube:

wtorek, 20 stycznia 2026

SEIMS - V (2025)

The Australian project SEIMS is an exciting answer to a dilemma: can post-rock music be artsy and atmospheric at the same time. Yes it can. The band that is usually connected to such genres as math rock and post-rock, released their probably fourth album called V, four years after another great release: their probably third album called Four. MATH rock. Q.E.D.

Jokes aside, although their music is mostly instrumental and very much guitar-focused, it's difficult o call them "simply post-rock". The complexity of their compositions and the approach characterized by melodic, isolated guitar sequences (I know it's not true, but those make me think of some flamenco or fado music in some places) suggest to me that we deal with art rock that somehow has been deprived of vocals along the process. But then, the artsy is suddenly overwhelmed by the loud and heavy, making a perfect case for art-post-rock music.

A separate word should be said about Forever the Optimist, my highlight of the album. I love how it starts with slower, elaborate guitar dance and slowly growing into the energetic finish fueled by chanting, a rare sight on the release. It also sums up the overall mood of the album: in the times when post-rock (and really all the music I listen to) gets dark and apocalyptic, the sound here is bright and optimistic. And if I like it like this, it's a sign that it's very well done.

V costs 6 EUR (10 AUD).

Check: Forever the Optimist

Country: Australia

Genre: art-post-rock

SEIMS - FOUR (2021)

SEIMS - 3.1 (2019)

:youtube:

środa, 26 listopada 2025

Orsak:Oslo - Silt and Static (2025)

The Norwegian (but moved to Sweden I think?) band's 4th album (or tracks 82 to 90 as they kindly inform in the tracks' titles) showcases three things about the artists: the prog's love for highlighting guitar riffs, the psychedelia's love for long and mesmerizing passages and the post-rock's atmosphere building. And it makes a really interesting concoction.

There is not too much of either of those. Even if I don't love prog, I still enjoy the riffs here because they are skillfully used to build up an interesting and rather heavy atmosphere. I don't particularly like melodic post-rock but in here it's the best dose of the melodies and guitar catchiness. There is also a good touch of noisy parts so what not to love? The guitar-based instrumental music that is both genre-bending and quite simply very well-written, creating loundscapes that are as diverse as they are of the same, wild and moody nature.

My favourite track here must be 089 Break and Sink, most certainly because its beginning I associated (first subconsciously and later quite consciously) with my favourite track from Cult of Luna to which it's sort of not too far from. I feel like it's the perfect example of what the artists mean when they say that they "[have] taken several steps into deepening their expression, but still each track carries a foundation and core feel that will spark knowing nods from those who’ve followed the band for a long time".

Silt and Static costs 10.5 EUR (120 NOK).

Check: 089 Break and Sink

Country: Norway/Sweden

Genre: psych prog post-rock

Label: Vinter Records

ALL IS VIOLENT - Cartographers Of Human Purpose (2019)

wtorek, 4 listopada 2025

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

piątek, 17 października 2025

Aurora Falls - MAZE (2025)

I have to admit that I missed this band. And they are from Poland! And it's not even their debut album! It had to be my foreign friends who let me know about the Poznań-based outfit and it's a great thing they did since Maze (released all the way back in spring, but I really wanted to mention it on the blog!) offers some very decent post-rock music and I don't use words like this lightly.

While this is the kind of instrumental guitar music that is very much focused on the melodic side of post-rock, the artists know very well when they need to step on it and brings some noisy bliss to the audience. It's still not the overwhelmingly heavy guitar wall I would perhaps prefer, but it's an interesting take on the melody-filled rest of the album. Especially tracks like Second Chance, Third Time create a good blend of fast and melodic with fast and louder music.

It's no wonder to me that the whole description of the album consists of a quote from Haruki Murakami: "Has the dark shadow really disappeared?/ Or is it inside me, concealed, waiting for its chance to reappear?". The album, vibrant and full of life, certainly is lined with some darker tones.

Maze costs 6 EUR (25 PLN).

Check: Second Chance, Third Time

Country: Poland

Genre: melodic post-rock

środa, 8 października 2025

All Is Violent - Monolith of Becoming (2025)

Talking about the most obvious inspirations used in band's names, the Australian post-rockers of All Is Violent are certainly up there, among the top (maybe after Sugar for the Pill). But interestingly enough, the omitted part of the phrase, "...All Is Bright" is omitted on purpose as their instrumental music is all but bright.

Ad if you know me already, I don't look for the bright in post-rock. So this year I didn't care about you, infinite, but I do care about this unassuming EP from the other end of the world. As expected, nothing here is bright, but everything is violent. The pace and the hit produced by the guitar compositions take the audience away like rapids on a mountain stream from the very first notes. The sounds feel dark and not very approachable, ready to hurt you more than heel you. But sometimes you need this as well. There is a brief moment of peace in Where Knowing Else, but it's short and you know that it will be proceeded by another storm of sounds.

Unfortunately, it's so fast and so short that it's gone way too early. But if you write a thing like this, it's generally a good thing I think?

Monolith of Becoming costs 6 EUR (10 AUD).

Check: Where Knowing Else

Country: Australia

Genre: rapid post-rock

czwartek, 14 sierpnia 2025

The Polar Dream - Alma Gris (2025)

Their fourth album is th first that got through into my music bubble and I'm so glad it did! The Mexican post-rock outfit The Polar Dream create a unique take on the music genre, that is lighter and fresher than most, staying true to the music's atmosphere though.

Post-rock inspired by cyberpunk (and also shoegaze, Krautrock, etc,)? Oh yes, count me in! It's definitely not a coincidence since the album is opened with a track titled Mexico 2045! The sound also shows the inspirations with a big parts of the compositions being driven by synthesizer sounds. It's something like Tides from Nebula but maybe even more synthetic in some parts. But the thing I like the most (and, to me, feels most exotic) is the trumpet and its impact on the music (so great in Mudra!). This screams Mexico to me and I love it.

In general, the music here feels so much alive! It's melodic and energetic while still preserving the genre's signature mood. It's really fun listening to the Mexicans, I have to catch on with their previous releases as well.

Alma Gris costs 4 EUR (84 MXN).

Check: Mudra

Country: Mexico

Genre: cyberpunk post-rock

Label: Atajos del Norte

czwartek, 3 lipca 2025

Tylko Nieświadomi Przeżyją - Tylko nieświadomi przeżyją (2025)

I'm gonna be honest: despite the fact that the band comes from my city and that I've seen some of those artists performing live in other projects, I got to know about this release in an exceptionally weird way. From my Chinese friend (good sides of globalization here). And it's good that it happened because this new project lies exactly on the border of my comfort zone as their music is as post-rocky as it is jazzy.

The soundscapes on the debut release are vast. The pace is slow and slowly developing. The sights are surreal. This is all thanks to the wide range of instruments appearing on the album, including saxophone, glockenspiel, harp... This chaotic line up makes up a psychedelic yet coherent whole, an orchestration of various sounds that go from impro-like dark jazz passages to louder, post-rock-esque sections and back. The single Nigredo is a perfect example here: slowly rising up to a jazzy but also loud and atmospheric crescendo. The longer tracks are indeed constructed with a similar idea in mind, making me feel like at my post-rock home.

The parts outside of my comfort zone certainly include the omnipresent saxophone (sorry, not my vibe) which, I have to admit, sounds pretty alright. I do also prefer where the music gets louder, more involving and slightly heavier, but there is a lot of space for the lovers of the instrumental ambient and dark jazz, mysterious soundscapes. I hope to see the band live soon, it must be so much fun!

Tylko nieświadomi przeżyją costs 6 EUR (25 PLN).

Check: Nigredo

Country: Poland

Genre: post-jazz

środa, 29 stycznia 2025

black particles - a path in entropy (2024)

In post-rock music, I look for one of three things: either the overpowering melancholia, or the overwhelming guitar heaviness or the energetic blizzard of melodies and fast pace. The Hungarian outfit of black particles redefined the last one with a fantastic album a path in entropy released last November. It's a blast that should never stop.

There is not a second wasted, the band instantly goes to the fast-paced, pure energy kind of music. It is very melodic, but there is no space for idle guitar intros and gentle weeping, it's the juicy tempo from the very beginning. I wanted to pause to grab a coffee, but I was taken by the album's flow and simply couldn't. Luckily, the sound itself is filled with caffeine that makes your body awaken and energized. Especially when you get to the torrent of guitars entitled the stranger in the mirror. This all makes it clear that the musicians have background in post-hardcore, screamo music as the energy is very similar but translated into well-structured, guitar-based compositions. I love it.

a path in entropy costs 6.66 EUR.

Check: the stranger in the mirror

Country: Hungary

Genre: energetic post-rock

black particles - loss function (2022)

Black Particles - Wave Function Collapse (2020)

wtorek, 21 stycznia 2025

Wale Fall - Five (2024)

It's almost five years since this Los Angeles band appeared on the blog with their fourth album. As the title of the new one suggests, I haven't missed any of their releases in the way and it's a good thing as the Americans offer a quality guitar-based post-rock soaked with their own unique style based on the use of brass instruments.

The touch of the brass instruments sound is certainly something that makes the band unique. In fact, the album is opened by El Jinete, a track that revolves around, what I presume is, the traditional Mexican trumpet music. I mean I know it from westerns and Zorro probably, but this is my association, and, if it's correct, I like the fact that the Californian band embraces the region's history and channels it in their music. Unique and coherent. But the band use even more unorthodox instrument, like cello that adds to the atmospheric side of their music.

But the overall vibes on the album are less atmospheric or noisy and more into the melodic nature of instrumental music. In fact, I'd say it's music that sits on the verge of what we consider post-rock and it's a good thing too. This is also strengthen by the act that the musicians also stress how important improvisation is for their creative process, making me think less of post-rock and more of other instrumental-only genres. Regardless, a unique album with great music (and some sense of humour too in some of the track titles).

Five costs 7 USD.

Whale Fall - It Will Become Itself (2020)

Check: Fjord Lightning

Country: California, US

Genre: melodic post-rock

:soundcloud:

:bandcamp (There's a Light):

czwartek, 16 stycznia 2025

There's a Light & Noir Reva - Anam Cara (2024)

Two German (mostly) instrumental bands released a split album back in November and brought as a healthy dose of good guitar post-rock. The better known There's a Light from Lahr and their compatriots, Noir Reva, from Koblenz made sure to fill this short release with some juicy stuff.

The first part belongs to There's a Light, who composed their songs with a lot of post-rock aspects: the soft guitar dancing (I don't like this that much), the heavier guitar crushes (I like them very much), the melodic story-telling and the nostalgic atmosphere. The second track, Aporia, surprises twice: the first notes sound almost like minimalist chip tune, but it eventually grows into a full-fledged post-rock composition until it is joined by, it's the second surprise, almost... progressive rock-like vocals. I think it all works together pretty well.

The second part from Noir Reva shows that the lesser known band is very able to make interesting music. Their compositions are faster, more complex (with some interesting samples in the background I think) and catchier. The energy is pretty contagious and it's difficult no to dance to Svartur. Which is great, but in Noir Reva's case I do believe the faster the better. as the closing track is one that my mind completely ignored every time I listened to the EP.

Anam Cara costs 4.99 EUR.

Check: Aporia

Country: Germany

Genre: guitar post-rock

Label: Broken Youth Records

:facebook (There's a Light):

:instagram (There's a Light):

:bandcamp (Noir Reva):

:facebook (Noir Reva):

:instagram (Noir Reva):

:soundcloud (Noir Reva):

Battlestations - Inform (2020)

wtorek, 25 lipca 2023

Battlestations - Memoirs of Once (2023)

As you can already tell, I'm a big fan of this mysterious project from Brussels. Their music can be called many things but orchestral ambient is probably the most interesting one of them. Their new take on the curious music is called Memoir of Once.

The Belgian artist(s) combine various genres into one coherent soundscape. There are long fragments of ambient beauty that slowly but surely becomes louder and louder until it reaches the level of almost-post-rock music. But there are also bits and pieces of dark ambient and sacral ambient (so great in The Disappeared) as well as full-blown electronica and neoclassicism. The whole thing is like a mystery for the audience to uncover bit by bit, note by note. This music has a lot of focus-inducing and self-reflective abilities, but it definitely can be actively enjoyed as well.

Memoirs of Once costs 7 EUR.

Battlestations - Vixit (2017)

Check: The Ghost of Lady Farewell

Country: Belgium

Genre: sacral ambient

:facebook:

wtorek, 4 lipca 2023

Emphasis - Lazaret (2023)

This is the fourth album in the band's history, but I have to say that I'd never heard of the Croatian Emphasis. Meanwhile, the outfit is really fluent at combining post-rock music with heavier, post-metal elements and they prove it on their new album called Lazaret.

The experienced outfit (they've been around at least since 2007) creates guitar-oriented instrumental soundscapes that strike with dense, moody atmosphere and puts angry, shouting post-metal vocals on top of them. These metal vibes can also be heard in the guitars as well, in some places, like in The Gray Man, the clearly post-rock compositions suddenly get stormier and heavier only to get back to the moody instrumental music again. The post-rock nature is only underlined by the inclusion of voice samples that add to the story-telling side of the music. But the strength of this music lies in the perfect balance between the overwhelming post-metal and moody post-rock and this balance is best audible in Flood the Earth where the extremely heavy music gradually takes over the spot lights and offers a fantastic performance.

Lazaret costs 7 EUR.

Check: Flood the Earth

Country: Croatia

Genre: blackened post-rock

Label: Geenger Records

środa, 14 czerwca 2023

DIMWIND - The Futility of Breathing (2023)

Two Swedish artists, Andreas Hansen and Jonas Eriksson make music together as DIMWIND. The second album, The Futility of Breathing, follows the 2021 debut Slow Wave Violence with a heavy blast of instrumental guitar music.

They claim that their music "strive(s) to provoke both reflection and empowerment" while the album is devoted to "exploring a state of grief after losing a loved one". And this is further fueled by a personal tragedy that hit one of the artists, making the whole music experience even more honest and poignant. They express the theme with a heavy take on post-rock music with a multitude of metal music references. The metal's traditional guitar work meets the post-rock-like compositions that emanate the might of the heavy music with a hint of melancholy all over the place.

The Futility of Breathing costs 5 EUR.

Check: Days Subside Ablaze

Country: Sweden

Genre: guitar post-rock

:youtube: