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#5 – Thee Silver Mt. Zion Memorial Orchestra & Tra-La-La Band, formally known as A Silver Mt. Zion – 13 Blues for Thirteen Moons

While Menuk’s voice (and the band’s newest name) never ceases to piss me off, this album deserves some credit. It got a pretty bad rating from Pitchfork, and yeah, while it may come off as pretentious, I won’t deny it’s pretty damn good. This album defies a lot of post-rock themes; rarely having a quiet-loud build-up, but rather being consistently minimalistic and raw with defining influences from jazz, punk, and classical. And the vocal arrangements would’ve been good if I didn’t hate Menuk’s voice so much. But yeah. Something you don’t hear in post-rock every day.

Thee Silver Mt. Zion Memorial Orchestra & Tra-La-La Band – Black Waters Blowed/Engine Broken Blues
Thee Silver Mt. Zion Memorial Orchestra & Tra-La-La Band – Blindblindblind

#4 – Sigur Ros – Med sud i eyrum vid spilum endalaust

This may be a little biased as I absolutely love Sigur Ros, and I owe it to them for introducing me to post-rock in the first place, but hey–you really can’t go wrong with “Gobbledigook.” Granted it was the only song on the album that actually had an upbeat acoustic sound to it…but whatever. I’m so in love with Sigur Ros that I just don’t care. This album incorporates every Sigur Ros album I’ve ever loved (Agaetus Byrjun and () to name two), and yeah, even if it is a rather safe move on the band’s part, it’s still damn good and I’m proud to put it on this list. Check out the full review here.

Sigur Ros – Illgresi
Sigur Ros – Gobbledigook
Sigur Ros – Vid spilum endalaust

#3 – Have a Nice Life – Deathconsciousness

I am sure I’m not alone when I say that this album is probably one of the best rock albums of the year. A concept album revolving around ideas of sorrow, death, and religion (and those three intertwined), it is a very personal take on life through the expression of music. Personally, I enjoyed the second disc a lot better than the first as it’s a little more engaging. Leaning more towards a drone, shoegaze lo-fi sound, this album might not be considered “post-rock” in the typical term (avant-garde is likelier), but I’m still going to include it in this list. Read the full review here.

Have A Nice Life – Waiting for Black Metal to Come in the Mail
Have A Nice Life – Who Would Leave Their Son Out in the Sun?
Have A Nice Life – A Quick One Before the Eternal Worm Devours Connecticut

#2 – Tomcat Combat – I’m Okay, You’re Okay

You might remember my over-enthusiastic post on Tomcat Combat’s summer album, I’m Okay, You’re Okay. It’s full of energy, good tunes, and it keeps you on your toes. You can read the full review if you want, but basically I love this album because of it’s awesome dynamic rhythm shifts, something I’ve grown to appreciate in other music since listening to this album. Tomcat Combat are probably one of the lesser known and therefore unappreciated post-rock bands out there, so for the glory of all post-rock, please check them out!

Tomcat Combat – Pacer’s Club
Tomcat Combat – Ponies on Ice

#1 – The American Dollar – A Memory Stream

If you’re looking for a mellowed out, dreamy album that doesn’t actually scream post-rock, your best bet is with A Memory Stream. The piano and guitar melodies will hook you in and envelope you in their mellow but very saturated instrumentation. It is a fusion of great electronic music with post-rock concepts–one of the best ambient albums out there, and therefore, #1 on my list. Check out the full review.

The American Dollar – The Slow Wait (2)
The American Dollar – Lights Dim

This album is friggin’ solid! Tomcat Combat fuses post-rock with a more punk, electronic pop rock feel. You can tell there is definite focus on dynamic rhythms and timbre—the instrumentation seems to be very well-thought out. According to press, they are similar to that of Mogwai, Slint, and Explosions in the Sky, but personally I find that a little debatable. The album starts off with “Pacer’s Club,” which I consider one of the best tracks on the album due to the band’s ability to master rhythmic shifts. If you listen really carefully, you can hear hints of intricately planned instrumentation. Tomcat Combat can surely define the subtlety of synth mixing. I’m not sure how I could possibly explain it more; just scroll down a bit and play it. Tomcat Combat are masterminds of dynamic rhythms. ‘Nuff said.

Songs like “I’ve Seen Death” and “New City Blocks” give a cool Royksopp feel, like we’re listening to a soundtrack of a classic Sega Genesis video game (I feel like I’ve made this comparison before). “Mountains and Planes,” the album’s longest track at 9 minutes and 52 seconds is probably the epitome of what I really sense when I listen to Tomcat Combat. It starts of slow and mellow, with simple melody of a guitar, and the subtle synth mixes. The transitioning of instrumentation is just beautiful. I was definitely in awe when I first listened to this song. It could be really easy to just overlook the ingenuity of this one track. About four and a half minutes in, there is an entirely new rhythmic shift—not so much abruptly as to make it sound awkward—just the right fade out and introduction to let you know it’s a new act of the same play (for lack of a better metaphor).

And that’s what I feel could be said for the album in its entirety. Tomcat Combat definitely use rhythm to their advantage. There’s nothing boring or familiar about it for one to sigh out sarcastically, “Oh yeah. That definitely hasn’t been done before.” It’s fresh, it’s energetic, it’s as quirky as the band name!

I’m Okay, You’re Okay will be, without doubt, one of my favourite post-rock albums of 2008 (and not just because they’re Canadian). The music is familiar enough to be pocketed into the “post-rock” genre, but enough to not be classified under generic and conventional.

If you wish to pre-order the album (which I highly recommend that you do), click here to buy from the label. You won’t be able to find it through Amazon, CD Universe, or Insound–for now, anyway.

Enjwoi!

Tomcat Combat – Pacer’s Club

Tomcat Combat – Ponies on Ice