Mog what?
If you find it strange that there have been more post-rock reviews in these four days of February than in any other month combined, then you don’t know Swole Ear too well. I’ve gone on a few multi-day genre-benders, so all of the haters can step to the left.
Don’t be surprised if this is my last foray into the genre of post-rock, though. I just don’t know enough about it to separate the good from the bad. I think that all post-rock sounds cool, but that’s probably because the idea of grand instrumentation in my indie music is still new to me. Posts that go along the lines of “it sounds awesome, you all should listen to it” can’t be that interesting to read.
So I ask you to put up with just one more of them. I promise to get back to the Swole standards at some point. I’m going to go out and find the indie-ist of rock records tomorrow, and then we’ll have something to talk about.
But what is it exactly that I’ve come to expect from post-rock? Here’s a list:
- Long songs
- Minimal use of vocals
- An “abstract” feel, often brought about through the use of static and other distortions
- Ever-changing and ever-complicated guitar playing
- The use of instruments not often associated with rock (orchestral stuff)
Hardcore Will Never Die has all of these components and more. Well, not really more, but it has all of that stuff. And not much more, now that I think about it. In fact, the record is kind of . . . boring. Perhaps an important component of good post-rock is the ability to keep the listener on edge . . .
Swole Ear 
Mr. Ear: I commend you on having the cahones to admit that you were bored by Mogwai. For me, the litmus test is 1) did I get anything out of listening to the music; 2) can I remember any of it a half hour later; 3) would I ever listen to it again voluntarily. I have a feeling that some of the alleged post-rock that you have been listening to may not meet parts 2 and 3 of my test – cool though it was.
I know I am going to sound jaded but there have been artists who meet some or all of your criteria going a good ways back – long before Swans could get up the scratch to buy amplifiers and studio time.
Here is one from the late 1970’s that would meet my three-part test – except the distortion:
..and another one, over 40 years old, favored by Johnny Rotten and Scott Porter:
What is this, background music to play in the background of background music? Calling this boring is unfair to boring.