[Foreign Music] A Guide to Post-Rock: Essential Classics and a Recommended Pick

Laughing StockTalk Talk

Talk Talk – Laughing Stock [Full Album – HD]

Alongside Slint’s Spiderland, a work that is highly regarded as a foundational source of early ’90s post-rock is Laughing Stock, the fifth and final album by the British group Talk Talk, released in 1991.

While early post-rock is often associated with musicians emerging from the underground hardcore scene, Talk Talk—formed in 1981—are a unique case, having started out playing synth-pop aligned with the New Romantic movement, even drawing comparisons to Duran Duran.

As their career progressed, they steered decisively toward a more experimental and artistic direction, a shift that became especially evident on their fourth album, 1988’s Spirit of Eden, which won widespread acclaim.

Following lineup changes, the result was Laughing Stock.

By channeling elements of jazz and classical music into an ensemble built around improvisation, the album crafts a minimal, subtly ambiguous, floating sonic world that could well be described as a deconstruction of the rock genre itself.

Its sound influenced not only post-rock artists but also those in alternative rock and the Bristol scene, making it truly “alternative” in the deepest sense.

It’s an essential classic for anyone discussing post-rock—one you should absolutely hear at least once.

Don, AmanSlint

Slint – Don, Aman

One of the most important bands in the post-rock genre is Slint, formed in Louisville, Kentucky, in 1986.

Though they remained active in the underground scene and never achieved mainstream commercial success, their tightly wound, hardcore-derived tension and the band’s ensemble dynamics—shifting between quiet and loud—had a profound influence on later central figures of what would come to be called post-rock, such as Mogwai and Godspeed You! Black Emperor.

Released in 1991 and ultimately their final album due to their breakup shortly thereafter, Spiderland is widely hailed as a towering masterpiece—one of the definitive records of post-rock and math rock.

The jacket, featuring a striking black-and-white photo of the band members’ faces emerging from the surface of the water, is equally memorable, and as noted above, the album’s uniquely inventive guitar sound provided powerful inspiration to countless successors.

Issued by the storied label Touch and Go Records—home to many landmark releases in American hardcore, punk, and alternative rock—this is essential listening for anyone who wants to trace the origins of post-rock.

The Summer EndsAmerican Football

American Football – The Summer Ends

American Football is a band with a sporty, masculine name, but they’re highly acclaimed for the beauty of songs born from a delicate and intricate ensemble that’s the exact opposite of that image.

Led by Mike Kinsella—youngest brother of Tim Kinsella, the charismatic figure in the US indie scene known for bands like Joan of Arc—and a fellow member of the seminal ’90s emocore band Cap’n Jazz, American Football formed in 1997.

After releasing one EP and one album, they effectively disbanded after roughly three years, becoming a legendary group known among dedicated fans.

In 2014, they miraculously reunited, toured Japan, released new work, and have continued at their own pace into the 2020s.

Their self-titled debut album, released in 1999, took the complex, odd-metered ensembles associated with so-called math rock—often instrumental-focused—and sublimated them with a soft, delicate sensibility.

With intricate arpeggios that even evoke jazz elements and a vulnerable vocal delivery, their sound had a profound influence on Japanese post-rock bands.

It bears emphasizing that, for all its near-limitless delicacy, there’s a taut, ever-present tension rooted in their punk and hardcore origins.

If you like bands such as toe, this is an absolute masterpiece you must hear!

DjedTortoise

Tortoise – Djed

Among bands labeled as post-rock, Tortoise is surely one of the most famous and important.

They helped lead the so-called Chicago “post-rock/experimental” scene, and with the members’ formidable instrumental prowess and vast musical knowledge—plus their then-groundbreaking use of computer-based hard-disk recording—they developed a truly “post-rock” sound that introduced the genre to listeners around the world.

Remarkably, they never confined themselves to the post-rock tag: from pursuing approaches centered on live band sound to returning to tape recording, they have continually employed diverse methods and remained an innovative force in the music scene.

Their breakthrough—and a work that can fairly be called a milestone of post-rock—is their second album, Millions Now Living Will Never Die, released in 1996.

It was their first album after former Slint guitarist David Pajo joined.

Rather than the loud-quiet, wall-of-sound style often associated with post-rock, these tracks are meticulously structured with a wealth of ideas that break free from conventional rock formats.

Even as instrumentals, they convey a rich sense of melody—listening to the album alone feels like a singular and invaluable musical experience.

First breath after comaExplosions in the sky

Explosions in the sky – First breath after coma

Explosions in the Sky, hailing from Texas in the United States, are a quintessential band within what’s called post-rock—known for dramatic ensembles that skillfully weave quiet and loud passages across long-form tracks, standing as a leading group in the lineage of roaring, wall-of-sound guitars pioneered by early Mogwai.

They are the flagship band of the venerable label Temporary Residence, which has released many post-rock and experimental works and has handled releases by Japanese bands like MONO and ENVY.

Many bands have followed in their footsteps, influenced by their sound.

All of their albums are highly accomplished, and they’ve ventured beyond sheer thunderous post-rock depending on the record; but here, I’d like to highlight their third album, the 2005 masterpiece The Earth Is Not a Cold Dead Place, often praised as their finest work.

The delicate guitar arpeggios are honed to an even sharper brilliance, and the roaring guitars envelop the listener with a radiant glow that feels almost redemptive—distinct from the early rawness and heaviness.

Each track is remarkably complete, and since this is the album that brought them widespread recognition and is frequently hailed as their best, it’s highly recommended for first-time listeners.

If you want to experience even more of that cathartic wall of guitars, I recommend their previous album, Those Who Tell the Truth Shall Die, Those Who Tell the Truth Shall Live Forever!

Svefn-g-englarSigur Rós

Svefn-g-englar [Official Video]

Sigur Rós, a precious treasure born of Iceland.

While they first became known within the context of post-rock, by now they hardly need such qualifiers; they’re one of the most famous groups to come out of Iceland, renowned worldwide.

Their music blends lyrics sung in their native Icelandic and the invented “Hopelandic” language with delicate melodies carried by androgynous vocals, post-rock-to-shoegaze ensembles that harness quiet and loud dynamics, and a serenely austere sonic space akin to ambient.

Their sound world—where infinitely beautiful particles of sound sometimes transform into disquieting noise—is anything but straightforward, offering listeners a dramatic musical experience as if drifting between daydream and nightmare.

Their second album, Ágætis byrjun, released in 1999 and meaning “a good beginning” in Japanese translation, was the record that brought Sigur Rós to global attention.

Many music fans in Japan likely discovered them through this album at the time.

From Jón Þór Birgisson—known as Jónsi—whose angelic falsetto and distinctive bow-played guitar conjure melodies, to the refined use of strings and the roaring noise that leads listeners to somewhere not of this world—if you’re curious about Sigur Rós, this is the one to start with!

East HastingsGodspeed You! Black Emperor

Godspeed You Black Emperor – East Hastings

The very fact that they borrowed their group name from the 1976 Japanese documentary film God Speed You! Black Emperor, which focuses on bosozoku biker gangs, already makes it clear this is no ordinary band.

Hailing from Montreal, the holy ground of Canadian post-rock, Godspeed You! Black Emperor formed in 1994 as a large ensemble.

With sprawling, experimental compositions infused with political statements—both in their music and their artwork—they shook the scene with a singular, uncompromising stance.

Although they went on hiatus in 2003, they resumed activity in 2010, and even into the 2020s they continue to delight a devoted global fanbase with a sound world only they can create.

The work introduced here is their landmark debut album, F♯ A♯ ∞, released in 1997.

Featuring around ten musicians, the album consists of just three tracks arranged like a suite.

It melds a heavy, ominous atmosphere built from field recordings and samples with the complex ensemble textures that only a large group can produce—incorporating cello and violin alongside traditional rock instrumentation—and ranges from end-of-the-world stillness to explosive noise that feels like raw emotion given form.

The unprecedented impact of this sound remains the stuff of legend.

Once you’re drawn into this apocalyptic soundscape, there’s no turning back—you’ll be enthralled for good!