POST-ROCK
Alex Lynham guides us through the peaks and valleys of essential post-rock.
Post-rock linchpins Mogwai dropped a surprise live album in September. 2018 (mogwai. bandcamp.com) is a pay-what-you-feel download. The highlights are a fuzzedto-death take on Rano Pano, as well as ferocious versions of I’m Jim Morrison, I’m Dead and Helicon 1.
At the more challenging end of the spectrum is Ana Roxanne’sBecause Of A Flower (Kranky). Written over a five-year period, it incorporates spoken word, found sounds, and multi-layered vocal pads. It’s at its most accessible on the lush A Study In Vastness, though the slow burner Venus is a more satisfying cut.