ARIMA - Ez dago amor (2025)

Is the band led by Paule Bilbao my favourite outfit that makes music in Basque language? Yes, obviously, it's the only one I know. But the fact about ARIMA is that it's one of the European hidden gems the music of which is definitely worth discovering. Regardless of the language it is sung in.

The signature sound of the Basque is the combination of indie rock (with more focus on the "rock part" with noisy and hazy vibes. Bilbao's clear and strong vocal carries the compositions but at the same time (at least in my ears and mind) stops me from putting their music on the shelf labeled "shoegaze". Which is fair play, as the vocals a) are fantastic and b) leave a lot of space for the instruments to create this slow(ish) and heavy atmosphere. As I know since their appearance at the AM Festival, this sounds particularly impressive live.

The noisier and more ambient passages don't slow down the melodies here. It's the melody that makes  Isurkari one of my favourite tracks of the end of 2025, but truth be told, this short EP is stacked with hits like guitar-rich Zarata for example, with the spoken-word-based intro and outro tracks adding to the album's atmosphere. I wonder if the band plans to release their first LP anytime soon, I, for one, would appreciate it very much.

Ez dago amor costs 8 EUR.

Check: Isurkari

Country: Basque Country/Spain

Genre: ethereal indie rock

Label: Bonberenea / Aloud Music Ltd.

Arima - Beldurrez beste egitean (2023)

ARIMA - Metamorphosis (2019)

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Böira - Cendres ~ Mineral (2021)

The second post-rock band hailing from Spain/Catalonia recently here, this is Böira - a five-piece collective of heavy guitar sounds and very unique compositions. They released their debut album back in 2015 but I hadn't known them before the release of this year's Cendres ~ Mineral. Which is really, really good.

The Barcelona-based band's music is pretty much the perfect balance of lively and adrenaline-packed mathrock and the atmosphere-oriented, darker post-rock. The latter is provided not only by the slower pace of some parts within their compositions but most notably by the absolutely outstanding use of piano/keyboards - they are not only beautiful ornaments like it often is but the core element of the music here without being brought towards synth-heavy futuristic post-rock like, say, Tides from Nebula now. It's a darker, more neoclassical way of piano music incorporated into post-rock, often quite fast, environment, and well done too.

As I said, this is not a dark ballad-like instrumental music, there is pace, energy and heaviness here, at some points, the heavy, almost metal-like guitars take over, as in Obaga or Brot with its similarly metal drums, and carry the compositions until the ever-emerging piano comes back. These are piano-soundscapes but with turned-on speed and heavier impact. 

Cendres ~ Mineral costs 5 EUR.

Check: Postcards

Country: Spain/Catalonia

Genre: piano-led post-rock

Label: Aloud Music Ltd.

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