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

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