An annoyingly common misconception is that intrumental post-rock must be melodic and soft and sweet. Though genre pioneers Mogwai built their career on sudden dynamic shifts and other bands such as Caspian and TWDY also use swathes of heavy distortion, bands that incorporate melodies and have some kick to them, in my iTunes at least, are few and far between.
Long favourites of mine are the brilliantly named If These Trees Could Talk from Akron Ohio. They mould intricate melodies into crashing thunderous sections that evolve on the themes they introduce. What is immediately clear on listening to ITTCT is that they're superbly talented musicians and listening to their tracks feel like they're taming a wild explosive beast.
The calm sections before the inevitable thrash retain an air of uncertainty and each moment is spent waiting, teetering on the edge of when the song will next launch itself down a wonderfully distorted slide.
I've often said that instrumental music soundtracks the images in your head but ITTCT create new images, they evoke feelings you'd forgotten about, bring anger and passion to the surface of an otherwise calm mood.
This is music to listen to loud and to revel in, to get and cleanse anger to.
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