Key

A Swarm of The Sun - The King of Everything (EP: 2007)


Yeah, it's some more A Swarm of The Sun, but I was caught by surprise once again. When I did a search for the new album by them, I seem to have completely overlooked the EP they released in 2007 titled "The King of Everything". It's obviously got some tracks that I have heard before but it's got some that I haven't heard yet, and that's always a treat.

I'll say it right now before I forget: This EP starts off strong, and ends on a strong foot, making it another fantastic album to add to my collection under their name. If I had realized that this EP existed before listening to the other albums, I would've been as happy as I was when I first listened to Zenith. Especially since this EP has one of my all time favorite tracks by this band as the first song:



...the only difference in this version is that it has a little bit extra added to the intro, which I would've been happy if they had kept it in, it sounds awesome.

In terms of how this EP sounds, it sounds amazing. If you're looking for a quick couple tracks to get you to see if you like this band or not, they hit this one out of the ballpark which obviously bled into future albums. After listening to this EP, this officially means that I haven't listened to an album by A Swarm of The Sun that I haven't liked. I've been looking for more bands in this genre that have been releasing consistently great albums, and this is added to the list.

Key

Bands Worth Mentioning...

So, i've been talking a lot about a pretty specific amount of bands this month, but that's only because a lot of the albums I want to talk about are by some of the bands, however that doesn't mean there are a lot of other bands that are worth listening to. I've listened to my fair share of post-rock and i've been able to categorize the kind I like versus the kind I don't like. Here are some albums/bands that are worth mentioning for old times sake:

Joy Wants Eternity - You Who Pretend To Sleep (2007)



Joy Wants Eternity is an old favorite of mine. The album "You Who Pretend To Sleep" is the only one i'm familiar with. I remember really enjoying it a while back and I still do enjoy it. It's not much of a regular listen for me anymore, but it's still a great post-rock album.



Caspian - Tertia (2007)



If you're looking for a bit more dark atmospheric instrumental post-rock, Caspian are definitely where you'd want to look. The only album i'm really really familiar with is "Tertia", although I have listened to their other releases before.. While it's a great album to listen to, I never really took too much from it to remember. Granted I had only heard it once before, and listening to a few tracks now, I may want to give it another listen. Definitely reminds me of I Hear Sirens, in a good way.



Gifts From Enola - Loyal Eyes Betrayed The Mind (2006)



I'll be honest, Gifts From Enola were a band I sort of fell into and fell right back out of. Not to say that they're bad, but I never really found much about them that I really truly liked. A few of their albums are decent, and the one I think I liked the most out of them all was "Loyal Eyes Betrayed The Mind". I had heard this album back when I was first getting into post-rock, so that's probably more of a reason why I couldn't get into it. Again, just like the album I mentioned before, i'm finding some enjoyment out of it while I listen to it now.

Bulldog

Looks like I've got some catching up to do with this thread since I was last here. Really liked that Caspian track, it sounded really complex to me. Starts off really dark, like you say, but I like how it kinda explodes into the light from about 1:30 when that guitar phrase kicks in, it's all very visual stuff...to me, anyway. Definitely gonna put Tertia on my to do list

Key

Yeah, I tend to update this thread pretty frequently. Tertia is a pretty good album, which I also found out yesterday. I hadn't given it the proper listen it deserved when I first ran into that band.

Key

This song. This song right here is what perfection sounds like. I'll be doing a double feature about The Best Pessimist, one of which will be this post, and the next talking about an album that I absolutely love. There's really not a whole lot to say really, especially when the song title itself just speaks for itself, in a way. You see the title "Love Is", and while you listen to the song...you think to yourself, what is it? What is love and what makes it real? Main reason why this song is being posted in this section for heartbreak is because it has that same feel to it that most songs would have in this type of setting. Definitely worthy of a listen though even if it does make you feel sad.

Key

The Best Pessimist (ambient / post rock)
one man living the dream...



That's right. We've got a solo artist here. The Best Pessimist is a post-rock / ambient solo artist that goes by the name of Sergey Lunev. This man alone has released a total of five studio albums over the course of his career, and I will say it now, none of them are anything but amazing. This man alone has so much creativity and talent in his own mind, and it really shows itself through his music, better than some post-rock bands of 3 - 5 members.

One album I would love to mention is...


Love Is...

First off, that is some beautiful artwork for an album cover. Honestly, the minute I see it, all I want to do is fly away and listen to this music over and over again. The album itself is also fantastic. It's got a mixture of great beats and beautifully crafted ambient post rock that you just can't listen to it once. This is definitely one of the examples I like to use when I talk about albums where the tracks are layered perfectly so that each track is better than the next, which allows for a near perfect experience on your first listen. Spoken from experience, the music tends to get better and better the more you listen to it.



And keep in mind that this is one of five albums that he has, so if you see yourself getting bored of this one, you have four more to listen to, including...


I Just Want To Be Your Everything

and


To Whom It May Concern

Throughout those three albums that I mentioned, you'll still hear songs that will blow your mind. Nothing feels the same throughout every album. His creativity really does shine with each album that comes after the next. And if you're really craving some more, you can check out his two EP's: Two Against All, and Autumn Leaves, which again, and I apologize if I am repeating myself, are nothing short of amazing. Give this man a listen because I mean, you may as well right?

Key

Jonsi - Go



Yes, you recognize the name. Yes, it is the same Jonsi as the vocalist of the same name from Sigur Ros. Some people may not be aware that Jonsi has also made a name for himself on the solo side of things. He's got a few albums under his sleeve as a solo artist, even one that he made with his partner Alex Somers titled "Riceboy Sleeps", which is just as amazing as it sounds...


Jonsi & Alex - Riceboy Sleeps

Anyway, back to Go. This album is definitely one you'll want to open your ears to, just for the curiosity of what Jonsi would sound like as a solo artist. Let me tell you. It's an amazing album. This album could possibly change your life, but maybe not. I wouldn't say it did that for me, but it does have the ability to bring me to a much happier place in regards to post-rock. I'd do a feature of this album in my "Angel Room" section, but I figured why bother. Honestly, if you're looking for a little bit more upbeat version of Sigur Ros, this album is where it's at. The first track in the album titled "Go Do" just sets the tone for the entire album.



Another track that is probably my favorite on the entire album is titled "Boy Lilikoi". Its got this weird mixture of being upbeat while still sounding a little bit depressing, but it's done very well. The lyrics are pretty damn good as well. Yeah, Jonsi sings english lyrics, who would've thunk.



Honestly, if it were to come down to it and I had to choose one post-rock solo album that I'd take to the grave with me, this one would be it. Jonsi is certainly one of the more underrated solo artists, but I think that has to do more with his success with Sigur Ros getting in the way, which isn't a bad thing. I just think people don't realize that Jonsi does make music on his own, and it's worth as much of a listen as any Sigur Ros album.

Key

Jonsi & Alex - Riceboy Sleeps



If there was ever something that needed to be done, album wise, this one is an album that I don't think I would've been able to survive without. To me, there is just something so beautiful about hearing an album that was crafted by two people who love each other to no end. It surpasses any kind of band chemistry that has been seen before, and it really showcases how much they care about each other with how good the album sounds as a whole.



If you're looking for more of the ambient side of Sigur Ros, where the vocals aren't as prevalent, this is an album that I would definitely recommend checking out.

I still remember the first time I stumbled upon it, I was curious to know who the second half of the Jonsi & Alex was, in which case I would've never thought they were in love. Not that I ever thought it was a bad thing, but I feel like I was able to grow more in love with this album after knowing the kind of relationship the two members had. It's a weird thing, but it really does work for this.

Key

Jonsi - Go
(part II, kind of)



I just wanted to throw this in here to let you hear this beautiful song done on an acoustic guitar. It sounds fantastic and well worth a listen.

Key

I've got a couple more bands to talk about that really know how to perform better than expected on stage:



Part III coming soon.