Drawing Hills - Lueurs (2026)

I can't believe I already posted about the French band of Drawing Hills... almost 10 years ago. This reminds me that very, very soon, this blog will have its very significant birthday. But this can wait as the short EP released in June and filled to the brim with quality post-rock is worth a story of its own.

Since 2017, the band released only 3 EPs so it's not the most fruitful music career I've seen. HOWEVER, for a small and relatively unknown band, the quality of the music they create is staggering. I love when guitar post-rock finds this balance between being catchy and melodic and noisy and overwhelming. And Lueurs showcases just that: the guitars play blissful melodies only to become aggressively loud and math-rock-like random (in my favourite track here, Inferno). This doesn't mean that there is no continuity here as the whole album feels very well-thought-through and coherently atmospheric.

So the EP may be short, but there is A LOT going on from the beginning to the finish. I just wish the Frenchmen won't wait another 4 years with another three tracks. It's time for an LP I think.

Lueurs costs whatever you want to pay.

Check: Inferno

Country: France

Genre: guitar post-rock

Drawing Hills - Bunch of Bushes (2017)

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Lost in Kyiv - We're All Going to Be Fine (2026)

The release of the 5th album from the French band turned out to be the perfect occasion, in the artists' eyes, to have a small lifting to their name. Small but significant, as the outfit, closely tied with the Ukrainian nation's struggles and war effort, decided to honour this and from now on use the Ukrainian way of spelling the country's capital's name. Consequently, the new album kind of got lost (sic!) in this commotion. And it shouldn't be the case, cause they band never disappoints.

Lost in Kyiv are almost perfect when it comes to making "modern" post-rock. One that is both melodic and impactful, with heavy use of synths and some unorthodox elements to the compositions. Within this subgenre, they manage to be very exciting while always delivering what is supposed of them. This post-rock is heavy, but not too heavy, it's melodic, but not too melodic, modern-sounding, but also not deprived of emotions. I love Burst with its synthy flow, Eclipse for its glitchy moments and Euphoria for its... well, euphoric vibes. This is not going to be THE best post-rock album of the year for me, but it certainly will be one I'll be coming back to a lot. But not to the track with Rebecca Need-Menear's vocals. Sorry, it just doesn't agree with me.

Interestingly, the album's title really fits the trend of hopeful and warm messages sent by post-rock(ish) artists. Suffice it to say, only this year we had Million Moon's You Be Good, I Love You or VLMV's There Will Come Soft Rains. I guess this is ONE way of responding to today's world, especially when you are (like LiK and like me) emotionally invested in a brutal war we have here, in Europe. Cheers to the trend then.

We're All Going to Be Fine costs 5 EUR.

Check: Burst

Country: France

Genre: modern post-rock

Label: Pelagic Records

Lost in Kiev - Rupture (2022)

Lost in Kiev - Persona (2019)

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Hanry - What Came From Silence (2026)

So it happens that two major contenders to the post-rock AOTY are being posted on this blog right after another. But while Kokomo's already recognized powerhouse within the genre, the French Hanry only just debuted with their album What Came From Silence. Not to mention that they could hardly be more different musically while still being more or less within the same music genre. So after the ruthless guitar heaviness yesterday, it's time for sublime and cinematic electronica-based post-rock.

Among their inspirations, the band lists shoegaze and trip-hop and you can really hear it from the first notes of the album. There is at least a perfect balance between the guitar and the electronic sounds with a heavy emphasis on the synth's presence. I feel like this is the French post-rock's specialty but unlike in Dragunov's and, especially, BRUIT ≤'s chaos, Hanry offer mellower, softer approach to the subgenre. More towards Lights and Motion than The Age of Ephemerality if you catch my drift. This doesn't mean that there is no more intense parts on Hanry's album though. The focus is clearly put more on the cinematic than the noisy.

What I love in their music is the flow the compositions offer: the synth-heavy and noisy parts (Remains! Time's Collapsing!) that capture you and leave you no choice but to follow them until a satisfying closure. The more I listen to it the more I feel like it really is BRUIT ≤ minus the weirdness, making it way easier to appreciate the intriguing soundscapes and electronic beauty the band creates, especially in the synths department. One more great reason to travel to this year's Pelagic Fest in the Netherlands. 

What Came From Silence costs 5 EUR.

Check: Remains

Country: France

Genre: electronic post-rock

Label: Pelagic Records

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Ingrina - Nåværende lys (2026)

Nåværende lys or The Current Light in English, makes the third instance in the Lys trilogy from the French band Ingrina and their third LP at the same time. The group of nihilist whose motto says "The meaning is lost and it always has been" creates a surprisingly hopeful music that balances the darkness and the light, the heavy and the modern in the most exciting way.

The central motif  of the album is this rogue kind of hope that is born out of losing everything, but also escaping the worst possible ending. As the band puts it, it "celebrates a vivid present in which life forms have succeeded in rendering their existences limitless, abolishing the borders, walls, and prisons that had confined them until then". The freedom you can get drunk on, the ecstatic feeling that makes you fly and cry at the same time as I understand it. And it is also the feeling the high-paced, modern-sounding post-rock/post-metal of the Frenchmen gives you.

Driven by the rocket fuel of guitar effects, the music here is fast and rich in flow. It makes me think of Ingrina's compatriots from Dragunov, this kind of modern take on post-rock that is less about the guitar riffs and more about the pace and the smoothness of the sound. But it doesn't mean it's not heavy because heavy it really is, especially in the inspiring opener in Time or slightly slower and doomer Grips. But the fast pace of the compositions making the 40 minutes feel like a blink of an eye, is the core of this album. You are suddenly transported into the future and the chaos of And All the Deadly Frontiers.

Nåværende lys costs 5 EUR.

Check: Time

Country: France

Genre: modern post-rock

Label: Medication Time Records

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Jelena Ćirić, Snorri Hallgrímsson, Cécile Lacharme, Oliver Patrice Weder - Tramuntana Tapes II (2026)

The four artists started collaborating as a group in 2023 "at an old shoe factory in Mallorca". Since then, they released an album in 2025 that is now being followed up by a second release. The improvised neoclassical music they create together has the charm and the beautiful energy that inspires the audience with so much ease.

The two releases are characterized by delicate neoclassical soundscapes joined by magical vocals that only boost the soothing and slightly mysterious atmosphere. This all is a result of creating music freely, without a plan or expectations, just fueled by the energy of the group of artists being present in one place in one moment and filled with the need to create something together. Jelena Ćirić sings, Snorri Hallgrímsson and Oliver Patrice Weder play piano and Cécile Lacharme accompanies all of them on viola. I love this multi-instrumental neoclassical team joining forces like some sort of Avengers to save the souls of us, mortal music enjoyers.

Tramuntana Tapes II costs 4 EUR (6 CAD).

Check: Wave

Country: Serbia, Iceland, France, Switzerland

Genre: neoclassical

Label: Moderna Records

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Callière - Solar (2026)

Andrew Rose makes his music for ages now! His music alter ego came back in 2021 after a long hiatus and there's already 6 albums released as Callière. Solar, the final one, makes me think of the classic shoegaze artists as it is as dreamy as it could be while being a clearly offstream gazey project. No wonder that Rose has some interesting connections to Nick Noble of 93MillionMilesFromTheSun, one of my favourites within the sub-genre.

Rose's music is based on dreamy and dense backgrounds and very airy vocals. The important parts are the melodies: in fact, everything in this music is about extremely catchy melodies (sometimes drawing from the old pop song-like motifs as in Calling Claire from Clare) submerged in the oneiric atmosphere. The compositions are never loud, it's way more dream pop than shoegaze, especially that the backgrounds seem to be designed to creating the atmosphere rather than than to draw attention to themselves. It's the melodies that matter, even when they drown in the noisy music (in the beautiful cover of The Pains of Being Pure at Heart's Anne with an E). 

This album is said to be inspired by the artist's "journeys along the Camino in northern Spain, where the landscapes and the quiet rhythm of long days on foot sparked a wave of new songwriting" and I can definitely sense this in the unhurried compositions that take their time to get through start to finish, more interested in the landscapes/soundscapes around. I love it. The album features also a handful of guests, but I don't recognize anyone. Still, the vocals provided feel like a good match for the compositions.

Solar costs 5.75 EUR.

Check: Cephalophore

Country: UK/France

Genre: lo-fi dream pop

Label: Pristine Audio

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Oak - EP (2025)

Oak is both a tree and a music band from France. As one could guess, the artists are very closely rooted (haha) to the allegory provided by the band's name, stating, amon other things, that it was "planted in 2009". It's been a while now and Oak don't have a massive discography so it's always a good thing that they decided to show something to the world with this year's EP called EP.

"Oak has not yet reached its canopy" is another of quotes form the band and I can't help but wonder what that will look like when it finally happens. Because the little material we have suggests that there is a huge potential for massive, atmospheric post-rock sound somewhere in Oak's core. The EP is short, even if the second track reaches some impressive time stamp, so it's very difficult to access, but I like what I hear. The guitar-oriented, classic post-rock doesn't really seek tons of melodies, rather it's focused on the heaviness of the sound and this is something I appreciate very much. I will keep my eyes on this one (another one with so many fantastic ones around!) French post-rock collective.

EP costs whatever you want to pay.

Check: Fear Carries the Grace of Stillness

Country: France

Genre: heavy post-rock

Label: ITAWAK RECORDS

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BRUIT ≤ - The Age of Ephemerality (2025)

As I have stated a couple of times, I respect bands who decide not to use Spotify and this kind of streaming platforms while it still makes me sad. Because I can't freely access their music (even if I buy digital files from Bandcamp) and because the world of music industry is what it is. Nevertheless, there are bands like BRUIT ≤ whose music HAS TO BE listened to, even if it's not that easy. And the French band confirms that with their spectacular second album.

This is the most complicated post-rock music ever. In the sense that it is made with guitars, orchestral instruments as well as the electronic manipulations. I can't think on any other band who goes to so many places to make their music and make it sound so coherent at the same time. There are almost math rock parts on the new album and they sound like weird collages made of drones and social media, but they are mostly used as intros and backgrounds. The music is made with instruments and later heavily packaged into the modern, glitchy post-rock form which makes it double as attractive in my ears.

This correspondents with the band's world view that is really this kind of technocratic punk, rebelling against the oppressions of the modern world, politics, society. Everything that hurts us even if we don't recognize it. This album is for everyone who would want to start recognize them and follow the band in chanting "We hope to be among the damned who refuse to have faith in their masters and who do everything to escape the cameras in the streets".

The Age of Ephemerality costs 8 EUR.

Check: Progress / Regress

Country: France

Genre: modern punk post-rock

Label: Pelagic Records

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Kwoon - ODYSSEY (2025)

Oh, wow, a comeback that I did not expected nor have heard about! But what a beautiful surprise it is! I remember the project led by Sandy Lavallart's fantastic music from 10 years ago (the single called Swan) and 15 years ago (their last album release). This year they are back with a long and instantly memorable (and fittingly named) ODYSSEY.

This kind of post music that doesn't really match the common definition of post-rock, is not folky enough to call it post-folk, much rather sits somewhere there sounding beautiful. It is what Her Name Is Calla did and what Piano Magic were so good at, it is what slowcore and post-rock with a lot of artistic soul can sound like, it is one of the most intimately meaningful kinds of music out there. The artsy slowrock of the French band is stunning. Sometimes it is slow and quiet, sometimes it gets louder with the help of the vast range of classic instruments to create orchestral moments of euphoria (like in my favourite track Jayne) fueled with choire-like backing vocals (so beautiful in Life). 

But the vocals are equally important, creating the folk-like focus on narration and words. The soft vocals sound emotional and very close to the audience, sometimes contrasting with the orchestral grandeur of the music. Every composition is complex and artistically engaging yet still very welcoming for any newcomer who happens to discover this band. And if they do, they are very lucky.

ODYSSEY costs 9 EUR.

Check: Jayne

Country: France

Genre: artsy slowrock

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Decline of the I - Wilhelm (2025)

I had post-metal debutants this week, now it's the time for the genre's old timers. However, we won't go far from the existential themes exploration in heavy, yet spiritual music. The French Decline of the I released their fifth album and did it with a (surprisingly experimental) bang.

Released by the Polish label Agonia Records, the album marries very traditional metal elements with airy and spiritual ones while still creating a coherent whole. The gregorians-like chanting is kept in check by angry vocals so that nothing here takes control over the music and the balance is in place. The same goes with samples, spoken word parts, tear-jerking violins in backgrounds. This black metal is filled with eclectic ornaments that make the album stand out.

The album is the second part of the trilogy devoted to Søren Kierkegaard and his existentialist philosophy, one that could only be illustrated so well by the sound of black metal. As the band's leader, AK, admits, the album constitutes "a constrained dive into the angst of ethics", or, as I would call it, an exciting, yet depressing and overwhelming at times, lesson on existentialism.

Band picture by William Lacalmontie. Wilhelm costs 11 USD.

Check: Éros N

Country: France

Genre: eclectic black metal

Label: Agonia Records

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Julien Demoulin - A Trial of Distances (2025)

There is something special in airy soundscapes that are enriched with sounds of live instruments, especially when the instruments are not that obvious. This is exactly the case with the new album from the French artist Julien Demoulin, who created a dream with a twist.

As the label states, the release provides us with "emotional themes, deep chords of eerie synths and melancholic drones" with inclusion of "lovely brass sounds of trumpet, trombone and flugelhorn, provided by Kelly O'Donohue". The trumpets are really not something I envision in the reverb-filled, ethereal form, quite frankly I seldom envision them in any form. But those soundscapes work so well, I can't deny it. So, without any denying at all, let's sink into the beautifully dense ambient sounds.

Just to mention everything, the album includes also three remixes by some well-known names in the soundscaping world, including our very own How To Disappear Completely from Poland.

A Trial of Distances costs 7 EUR.

Check: A Trial Of Distances Pt.3

Country: France

Genre: brass instruments soundscapes

Label: sound in silence

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Soaring - Soaring (2025)

The airiest blackgaze of the year may well be already released as Baptiste Belot's debut EP is both strikingly dreamy and wonderfully fast and heavy. The French artist makes his music as Soaring and the feeling of going through the skies with the engine built of euphoria is kind of what his self-titled album is all about.

This truly is "heavy reverb music for the heavy-hearted". Because while the music is filled with fast, synthy sounds that will always make me feel euphoric and hopeful, while the flow of the tracks has a power to take you in its hands and make you, almost literally, soar through the skies, the lyrics are bleak and gloomy. It's about the indifferent universe, being afraid of emotions, dying. This stark dissonance is where the album glows. Glowy, drowning with light dreams about the absurd of human existence, the ones we like the most.

Soaring costs 7 EUR.

Check: A Blurred Contour of Everything 

Country: France

Genre: euphoric blackgaze

Label: Stellar Frequencies

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Pascal Savy - Simulacra (2023)

Pascal Savy, a French artist based in London, is said to create "organic ambient and drone music as a way to reflect on erosion, transition and decay". This makes him a perfect match for the French label, Cyclic Law, which released his new album called Simulacra.

This album is the artist's answer to the nervous political situation around the world with the music here  that is filled with "feelings of alienation and powerlessness as well as convey(ing) ideas of anger and latent violence". The industrial, aggressive dark ambient is a perfect way to express this kind of atmosphere of constant danger and uncertainty. But there's another layer to his music: the always-changing, looping backgrounds create an otherworldly atmosphere that can feel airy and soothing as well as dangerous and poignant at the same time. A lot of approaches towards the same goal: unnerving space/dark ambient.

Simulacra costs 7 EUR.

Check: Hyperspace Without Atmosphere

Country: France/UK

Genre: industrial dark ambient

Label: Cyclic Law

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Alpha du Centaure & unknown fault - Careless (2023)

Two bands: the French post-rockers of Alpha du Centaure and unknown fault, a duo from Germany joined their forces to release a split album filled with 

The split is opened by the "raw alloy of ethereal spleen and onirism" from Alpha du Centaure. The French are known for their consistently high-quality releasing history with two great albums in their discography. And their post-rock music here is certainly on pair with their previous albums. This one, however, starts with a galloping but smooth guitar avalanche that is enriched with, alternately, dreamy and angry vocals. Those are the elements added by Nadia and Urs from unknown fault. And this combination of thick, atmospheric post-rock with oneiric blackgaze works extremely well. And I genuinely wish the whole album was like that, it just feels great together. 

Instead, we have one more song by Alpha du Centaure and three songs from the German duo. And they are all great, don't get me wrong. The French kill with their heavy post-rock vibes and unknown fault enchants the audience with beautiful, magical vocals.

Careless costs 7 EUR.

Check: Sunray Inertia

Country: France

Genre: blackgaze post-rock

Label: Stellar Frequencies

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where mermaids drown - Reminisce (2023)

It's been already two years since the French band where mermaids drown showed their first short album called And the Raging Winds Do Blow and what a debut it was! Now it's time for the artists, after a great gig at last year's dunk!festival, to prove that they belong to the most exciting new post-rock outfit in Europe.

On their new album, the band explores the way the relationships between humans are built and how they die, making room for creating life-long memories. And their approached the theme with a set of already-proved tools they are really good at: creating very moody, very atmospheric post-rock that is ready to serve slower, moodier peaces that lead to loud and massive fragments of guitar bliss. I like dividing post-rock into two categories: the more guitar-riff-melodies kind and the atmosphere-is-crucial one; where mermaids drown seem to be a perfect bridge over the two. One can't deny the thickness of the music layers here, but there's a good deal of guitar melodies (those faster and slower as well) - a really well-balanced album.

Reminisce costs 10 EUR.

Where Mermaids Drown - And the Raging Winds Do Blow (2021)

Check: Rio Plata

Country: France

Genre: atmospheric post-rock

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Full Moon Little House - Funeral (2023)

Kévin Navizet comes from Bretagne and leads the Full moon Little House band. The Frenchmen make an interesting, calm and dreamy take on indie music and it's definitely worth trying. Their debut LP called Funeral was released in March.

It's all about the subtle and oneiric (but not too subtle and oneiric) vocals and catchy (but not too catchy) melodies that makes this music so captivating. The music is also rich with psychedelic elements, but, as everything here, it's not overwhelming, but rather approachable. It's also fun to find out what kind of  artists the band are inspired by. My favourite is probably Suuns, as Eyes sounds like it could be taken from Suuns' Zeroes QC, one of my most favourite albums ever (also, June totally sounds like Radiohead towards the finish). The atmosphere here is a bit all over the place (there are elements of electronica, post-rock and other genres), but the unassuming vibes and great way of engaging the audience are what drives me to this album.

Funeral costs 8 EUR.

Check: Eyes 

Country: France

Genre: dreamy indie rock

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VAUTOURS - Live Forever (2023)

VAUTOURS, or an "angry 4-piece act of Noisy Rockin' (Post)-Hardcore / Punk shit", are from northern France and their music leaves a phenomenal impression and a heavy burden on the listeners. It's certainly the case with the last instance of their EP trilogy called Live Forever.

After Hail and The Queen, the band comes back once again with their extremely harsh and heavy, but also undeniably smooth and flow-rich post-metal music. Especially the opening track makes my neck thrill with excitement: there's not much of vocals yet and the whole of the compositions feels like a bullet of overwhelming noise. I love it. Afterwards the shift is slightly changed, thanks to the unique vocals that feel equally as post-hardcore as they resemble the over the top dark cabaret type of expression. I can feel some of Serj Tankian or Gogol Bordello here: these teatrical, exagerated punk vocals that are perhaps the most expressive way of singing there is.

One more important thing: their cover art game is top-notch!

Live Forever costs 3 EUR.

Check: Live Forever

Country: France

Genre: punk post-hardcore

Label: Marci Satan !

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DDENT - Ex Auditu (2023)

Three years after their last full-length album, the French post-rockers Louis Lambert of DDENT is back. This time, it's only a short EP, but it's always a treat to listen to their well-written instrumental music.

The EP called Ex Auditu, according to its Spotify title at least, may only be the first part of some longer whole and it's something to keep in mind. In those three tracks, Lambert included a whole lot of dense and heavy post-rock atmosphere that is mainly created by the loud, but not too loud, guitar sounds. It pairs well with the overall slow pace that makes the whole thing feel more monumental and overwhelming. And this atmosphere leads the compositions from softer, calmer fragments towards very heavy ones, including the very metal-like last seconds of Vale. I can't wait for more of this music, potentially Ex Auditu part 2?

Ex Auditu costs 0.50 EUR.

 

DDENT - Couvre-sang (2020)

DDENT - TORO (2018)

Check: Vale

Country: France

Genre: atmospheric post-rock

Label: Chien Noir Production

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WuW - L'Orchaostre (2023)

Inspired by "classical music, free jazz and drone", WuW is a French duo made up of two brothers Colins who together create an exceptionally interesting take on heavy post-rock/post-metal music. The new instance of their work is their third album called L'orchestre.

This is an orchestra that is based on heavy and crunchy sounds of guitars. The list of the band's inspirations include Year of No Light, Dirge and Omega Massif and it's no surprise as this slow at first, but gradually faster and faster music is headed towards very guitar-oriented self-expression. It's tad heavier than post-rock and way more similar to stoner metal than rock music, but it lacks any kind of post-metal vocals so I'd put it on the very border of the genres. No matter the genre, this is this kind of music that is meant to overwhelm the audience with the sheer weight of the sound: the slower, stoner riffs and the pretty minimalist vibes of this music can be felt in every inch of your body.

L'Orchaostre costs whatever you want to pay.

Check: Orchaostre 5

Country: France

Genre: guitar post-metal

Label: Pelagic Records

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L'ivrenoir - chap​​​.​​​10 : l'eigenlicht (2023)

There's something particularly interesting in the French scene of experimental folk/darkwave music. The new example for this statement is the Lille-based trio called L'ivrenoir who have already released some music with the newest being the EP called chap​​​.​​​10 : l'eigenlicht.

The band "shakes up the codes of narrative music by plunging the listener into a paradoxical atmosphere. A musical oxymoron from which exhales a dark light...". While the vocals are fairly standard for this kind of music (although they feel particularly close to the listener, as if an unsettling kind of ASMR), the most interesting part is the music in the backgrounds: with no traditional drums but with a clarinet instead. With this acoustic vibe but with hard to miss rhythm. With ridiculously energetic pace but with the tangible sense of darkness behind it. Something to keep an eye on, that's for sure.

chap​​​.​​​10 : l'eigenlicht costs 5 EUR.

Check: WegøtT

Country: France

Genre: darkwave folk

Label: Vailloline

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