KING NINE

Around the turn of the new millennium, a whole swath of music, across several genres, all played with a bleak mood. In the wake of the masterful and highly successful "OK Computer", dour artists got the most hits, and others soon decided to tap that part of their psyche and join them. Post Rock of the time was a part of this phenomenon, but in the genre's own special fashion. You wouldn't say that "Lift Your Skinny Fists Like Antennas To Heaven" was too closely related to "Urban Hymns". But now, a decade later, Blueneck have decided to essentially fold Post-Britpop styles and sensibilities into the Post Rock mold, and have done so to excellent effect. This is like The Verve collaborating with Mogwai, creating a sparse, minimalistic, atmospheric, and textured blend of popular bleakness and prog-leaning ethereals and art. This is melancholic, beautiful, and oh so unique - this would even have stuck out in the age it hearkens back to! Masterfully played by five of the best and most obscure artists in all post, this is a must have for postheads and people who've been digging Porcupine Tree, Steven Wilson solo, recent Anathema, and The Verve. An unexpected, crossovering throwback, that is what we've been needing all along without knowing it.