New post rock discoveries

I hate it when you get spam emails you don’t want. Particularly from mailing lists which somehow you’ve found yourself on, don’t remember signing up for, and to unsubsribe from can often be fiddly.

Such irritation was to the fore again the other day when I received an email from a record company called Fluttery Records, telling me about their latest releases. I was poised over the “spam” button in my email when my eye was drawn to the magic words “post rock”. Aha! Probably my favourite genre of music.

I checked out the website and, in their own words, Fluttery Records are a label especially for “Post-rock, Ambient, Experimental, Electronic, Modern Classical music.” This was very good news indeed.

I read a bit about the bands in the email, and clicked links to have a listen.

One band absolutely gripped me. Called Ana Never, they hail from northern Serbia and have been around for over a decade, though with only a small number of releases in that time.

They’re clearly a band for quality not quantity, though, as typified by their forthcoming album that the email was introducing.

Have a listen to it for yourself via the player on the right or here.

The album is called Small Years, and lasts over 75 minutes. It’s a surprise to note, though, that there are only four tracks on it, with the opening and closing ones both weighing in at over 25 minutes each.

That’s my kind of post rock – music that takes its time to carefully, meticulously build up a complex and meticulous sound, rather than just jumping in.

The result is a beautiful album of epic, soaring proportions, with sweeping guitars and drums softened and complemented by beautiful strings to make a magnificent orchestral composition.

Although firmly post rock, Small Years is gentler than Mogwai, richer than Mono and creates a tone that is mournful and introspective without being unduly dark or angry. It’s a magnificent listen and I’ve played it more than a handful of times in the last few days.

It’s always a pleasant surprise to discover new music, and having listened not only to Small Years but their back catalogue too, Ana Never – who I’d never heard of before and who don’t seem to have much of a high profile – plant themselves as a firm favourite of mine. They’re definitely my number one Serbian post rock outfit, that’s for sure.

I’ve been exploring some of the other bands on Fluttery Records, and it’s a veritable Pandora’s Box, an Aladdin’s Cave of post rock treasure. There’s too much to listen to at once but the little I have delved into has been great. I’ll be back to the website to listen to more in the coming days I am sure.

Having made the discovery of Ana Never’s magnificent Small Years album, I replied to Fluttery’s email.  I told them I didn’t appreciate unsolicited email, but thanked them and said I was making an exception because the music was so great.

Curiously, I got no response. They’re rude to have sent the spam, and rude not to have replied to my message.

But hey, the music’s fantastic. So I’ll forgive them.

Maybe…!

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