Various Artists – Open Language Vol. VI (A Thousand Arms Comp.)
Listening to the compilations by A Thousand Arms and Young Epoch is like going THE through perfect compilations for everything between Electro-Post-Rock and Ambient, Blackgaze and Post-Metal. A nice trademark of the double compilations is their divide between a US-centered one (Vol VI [Side A]) and a good look at the global scene ([Side B]). The tracklists are like a “who‘s who in Post”-music and thus a must-have for everyone.
There are so many amazing tracks on these compilations that it’s hard to pick a few, but there are a some that need to be mentioned: [Side B] opens with the nearly classic Electronic-Math-Rock track ”Stampede” by Go March that sounds a lot like a mix of 65daysofstatic and Chemical Brothers. Lehnen from Austria give us an amuse bouche of their upcoming record which has lots of wide-open cinemascope Post-Rock with a bit of Indie-flair. ”Postsynaptic” and its rollercoaster-arrangement and atmospherical wonderland shows once more why several people predict Tacoma Narrows Bridge Disaster to (soon) publish the best Post-Rock/Metal record this year. Holy Fawn deliver a remix of Shy,Low’s ”Algos” which combines the best of both bands. Driving Slow Motion’s ”Leaves” has as much space as Monument Valley underneath it. ”Firefly” by Via gives an idea of what VAST could have sounded like in 2021. Brave Arrows shows how to incorporate vocal samples into a song by using them in ”Low Born” as a starting point for their feisty Post-Metal somewhere between Russian Circles and From Monument To Masses. It’s probably not necessary the sheer awesome-ness of I Hear Sirens who partake with ”Spectral Passenger” their latest single.
Close followers of VoS will also find loads of bands that we already featured: Sundrowned aka Fysisk Format’s newest unexpected darkhorse for Post-Metal AOTY, Black Flak and the Nightmare Fighters who deliver the mesmerizing 10-minute epic ”Chapter 8: Let’s Not Waste New Tears…”, Mountainscape who got Simon fantasizing a few weeks ago, Immanu El whose ”Big Sleep” might just be the lullaby of the year, our French friends in Where Mermaids Drown whose fantastic debut has just seen a vinyl release, Treebeardand the wonderful track ”The Ratcatcher”, Hereafter who have just recently given us a very strong release, Blackshape and Dust Moth who have transferred their These Arms Are Snakes-roots into perfectly balanced Indie-Post-Rock. And believe me – in the next couple of weeks we will follow with quite a few reviews of records that are (indirectly) announced on Open Language Vol. VI!
To clarify it once and for all – if wanting to know what the current state of Post-music is – there are two labels one MUST follow who also collaborate frequently: Belgium’s Dunk! Records and A Thousand Arms. The latter makes it easy for us by handing out these mindblowingly well-structured and arranged compilations; just like Open Language Vol. VI!
