Russian Circles – Guidance

Ok, let’s just get it out of the way: ‘post-rock’ is a dead concept in 2016. Despite implying a level of innovation or deviation from hoary cliché, it’s developed its own standard formulae, becoming little more than a by-word for a certain type of instrumental rock. Loud plus quiet plus veryfuckingloud, multiplied by lots of pedals and nods to Mogwai's Like Herod and ...Fear Satan – you know the drill.

Anyway, Russian Circles are an instrumental rock band (yep), now 12 years into their career, currently displaying an enviable mastery of sound on album number six. For proof, try the densely rhythmic Mota, which shifts almost imperceptibly from nervous stutters to violent torrents – it takes a certain panache to puncture cinematic soundscapes so perfectly with such metallic crunch. By deliriously atmospheric closer Lisboa, it's clear that the Chicagoan trio have little new to offer the genre, but they sure know how to make a dead concept feel alive.