Experimental/Post rock Appreciation Threa

^^^ Wow. That was rough.

All this talking about Mogwai reminded me about a certain "supergroup" that has members of Mogwai, Electric Wizard and others. Their music is very soft and ballady, but not really post-rock IMO. Here's a little bio of them:



Born from a blizzard of horned cats, Crippled Black Phoenix bring you a twisted cinematic experience, handcrafted by a mercenary crew of musical outsiders, giving depth and gravity to regal songs about love, loss, tragedy and redemption. Their debut album, A Love Of Shared Disasters, will be released on April 2nd on Invada Records on cd and vinyl.

Back in 2004, the then Electric Wizard drummer Justin Greaves (also of Iron Monkey, Teeth of Lions Rule the Divine) started recording songs and soundscapes he'd had in his head for several years using primitive recording techniques. Encouraged by good friend (and Mogwai bassist) Dominic Aitchison those ideas would become the bones of Crippled Black Phoenix. Other great compadres followed, Panthiest members Andy Semmens and Kostas Panagiotou, Nial McGaughey of 3D House of Beef and -(16)- amongst others and solo folk songwriter Joe Volk, who also fronts critically acclaimed heavy rock band Gonga, all stepped up to bring a variety of influences and skills to complete the line-up.

In 2006, during one of the hottest summers on record the band recorded their debut album in Bristol and signed to Invada Records (run by Portishead’s Geoff Barrow). During the recording process the old friends aligned and fully realized visions that had been pestering Greaves for the past few years.

The result is a collection of self penned endtime ballads, a dark hybrid that is the culmination of all the members’ eclectic influences. It is the first of a trilogy and deals with the timelessness of honesty and tragedies laid bare, featuring sordid tales from the pages of literary history combined with personal stories of contemporary loss and love.

Using a blend of modern amplified and Victorian era equipment, the band have produced a captivating, slow-burning sound that’s both archaic and modern at the same time.

Some links and samples:
http://www.myspace.com/crippledblackphoenix
http://crippledblackphoenix.com/

Does anyone know of any Jazz influenced post-rock groups? They seem quite rare, I've heard of one group who really got me into this called Jaga Jazzist, their album "What We Must" is simply amazing. I recommend this to any music lover and certainly those who like post rock. I've also heard Tortoise was Jazz influenced but to be perfectly honest I didn't really notice much of it.

Natsumen is highly recommended. One that would fit post-rock and jazz rock nicely is 12twelve. They've been talked about some pages ago. Here are some songs and reviews about them:

Streamable songs from their website: http://www.12twelve.net/en/index.php?capa=av
Streamable songs from their myspace: http://www.myspace.com/12twelvebcn
Video from Youtube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fIXRY_nDBhc
MP3s

• Mr. Gesus
• Ciencia Para Todos Los Publicos
• 3001

http://www.smother.net/reviews/punk.php?ID=717
Barcelona based quartet 12Twelve are a progressive artistic indie group that like to write compelling and experimental music. Morphing instrumental music into a progressive free-jazz floatation device, 12Twelve use keyboards, guitar, sax, drums, and bass to create an undeniably thick atmospheric free jazz sound. Famous engineer Steve Albini, who occasionally annoys me with the accolades everyone bestows on him for his laissez faire style of recording, returns to record “L’Univers” giving it a distinct and naturally organic taste. Jazz improvisational fans of the mid ‘30’s era will find this album incredibly true to a lot of what that scene was all about in Europe (especially Italy) at the time while Brian Eno fans will find the atmospheric textures that the songs are built on top of to be an excellent aside. Perfect.



http://cdn.scratchrecords.com/moreinfo.cfm?Product_ID=108&CFID=594104&CFTOKEN=52977
12twelve is an instrumental four piece who has recorded their third album in Chicago with Steve Albini. Their influences range from krautrock to radical pyschedelia to post-rock. Together with this, L'Univers (The Universe) is compiled also of free jazz riffs pertaining to the early 60s late 70s and so likened to bands such as Lalo Schifrin, Chicago Art Ensemble and Slint. A sound honed amidst the remnants of improvisational artists and 30s avant-garde, both an instant classic and an act of pure class.(...)

They aren't. I made a thread about them, but the jazz rock team didn't answered to it. I need to PM them about it before I forget about them again.

Another nice recommendation is These Monsters... I suggest you give a listen to the song "Nice day to start a war" in their myspace page. Here's the link: http://www.myspace.com/thesemonsters
I love how they use the sax. It's very calm and at times in the background, but it works wonderfully. Check it out.

I don't know if people here check out The Silent Ballet's web page, but for those who don't they recently made an interview with the members of God is an Astronaut. If anyone's interested check it out here: http://thesilentballet.com/dnn/Home/tabid/36/ctl/Details/mid/367/ItemID/452/Default.aspx
There are also many other interviews with other great bands so be sure to drop by and read them when you have the chance.

Thanks BPT.  There's a certain lack of interest in the genre this past weeks.

Heard any new bands and or albums lately?

^^^ What bands have you listened to?

I recommend Saxon Shore - The Exquisite Death of Saxon Shore. It's a very uplifting album and very powerful. Another good one is Red Sparowes - At the Soundless Dawn. Both are great albums for people starting to get into the genre.

God is an Astronaut - All is Violent All is Bright  is another powerful album. You can read the reviews if you want to know a little bit more what they sound like.

Honestly there are many bands that can fit your description, but try to listen to those first. If you like what you've heard then feel free to ask again.

I should have figured that that was a vague description, I'm a post-rock n00b