SMALL CHANGES WE HARDLY NOTICE

4 songs, a rather short little EP but it's still one the best examples of good post-rock and also one of the best releases of the year. How you might ask? It's simple, this is downright great melodic and emotional post-rock.

The great thing about Youth Pictures of Florence Henderson is their somewhat unorthodox approach to post-rock. They have a sound that is deeply infected by the emo and post-hardcore music scenes but is still clearly post-rock. In this way, they create something that is interesting to listen to, emotional, catchy and epic all at once.

Their self-titled record was a good example of that sound and that album was a masterpiece, but here YPoFH's sound is a little more evolved and a little more interesting. The addition of horns and female background vocals immediately had a profound effect on the music particularly the opening track "All I Remember is Punk Rock" which is literally one of my favorite songs of the year. Also worth noting is the heartstring plucking orchestration in the background of songs like But Now You Know that sounds like Sigur Ros at their most emotional. Their sound has grown full as a result of the additional factors and this EP benefits greatly from it.

Each song maintains that spark that the opener has and you've got yourself a beautiful little EP, one that I listened to constantly this year and one that could be the best post-rock this year.

If you haven't checked out Youth Pictures of Florence Henderson yet, shame on you. You need to listen to them and what better way to start than this short and beautiful little EP?

Youth Pictures of Florence Henderson ? Small Changes We Hardly Notice

This is a very good Norwegian band, whose music offers a great post rock sound with that inherent indie/alternative sound that brings so many emotions and images to one's mind. And this is a 2012 EP named "Small Changes We Hardly Notice", where we can find four tracks with a 5-6 minute range that make a total time of 22 minutes. It starts with "All I Remember is Punk Rock", whose sound is actually melancholic, but shiny, I mean, the atmosphere is not sad but hopeful, very emotional and very beautiful. The rock element is evident, with the classic line-up of bass-drums-guitars, but they also add horns and female backing vocals that together put a very emotional, post rock oriented song. It is a great way of starting this beautiful EP.

"Hearts & Consequence" is in the same vein, in moments they remind me of Efterklang, due to the cuteness of the vocals, the horns and the clean sound. I love where the song becomes more emotional, rockier at the same time, with some beautiful disarming guitars here and there. The name of Sigur Ros might spring to your head when listening to "But Now You Know". This is yet another emotional song that combines melancholy with beauty, brightness and hope, its aspect does not only get stuck in your ears, but also in your eyes, since the music is very visual. It is like feeding your soul with a pretty mixture of emotions, very beautiful.

Finally, "Swim Team Philosopher" is a bit slower, but basically the structure and what it produces on me is the same, I mean, the EP is like a circle, all the songs are equally good, equally tasty, equally beautiful, which of course, speaks great of Youth Pictures of Florence Henderson.

I've been listening to this EP so much lately, it is magical, and helps me feeling better in my everyday life. That's the power of music.

Enjoy it!