Artist: Jet Plane

Album: Loud to Sleep

Label: Ricco Label

Release Date: 7 October 2014

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I still get stoked when bands submit their own records for me to review. To be honest, the moment I stop getting that feeling is the moment I should probably shut down this blog. That said, I get especially excited when those bands are from another country. So imagine my excitement when I received an email from Jet Plane all the way from Bryansk, Russia about their (then upcoming) album. Now try to imagine just how much more excited I was after listening to their new album, Loud to Sleep, and realizing that it was really, really good. For those tired of imagining things: I was pretty excited. Here’s why.

Loud to Sleep opens up with the track “Laurel Trees/21 Guns”. A quiet, gently swelling intro unfolds into a showcase of what makes this album so unique. Along with the expected...

Album: Tower

Artist: Falcon Arrow

Label: Unsigned

Release Date: August 24, 2014

I’ve known about Falcon Arrow for some time. I’ve seen them live as well, and they put on a damn good show. So I was ecstatic when they sent me a copy of their latest record, Tower, when it came out. I’m even more excited now that I’ve listened to it. I’m not going to be breaking down every song for this review. Not because I don’t like the record. Quite the contrary. I feel like I’d be wasting your time asking you to read about it when you should really just go listen to it.

Plus, just look at that cover… Inner 13 year-old me is having a fit over how cool that is.

Read the review if you want, but I’m gonna end it the same way: Just buy the damn thing already.

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From the very first notes of “Derelict”, Tower‘s opening track, Falcon Arrow waste no time establishing a groove. Bass guitar, looped...

Artist: Hanan

Album: Sonder

Label: Inspirus Records

Release Date: (Digital) September 5, 2014 (Vinyl) October 21, 2014

I’ve actually had the pleasure of being on the same bill with this band around a year ago. Since then, I’ve been waiting for them to put something, anything out, and now they’ve finally done just that.

To offer a little backstory, Hanan started out as the solo project of Zack Sieger in 2012. Two years later, there is a fully fleshed out band and a shiny new record (on vinyl, even) set to be released (digitally) on September 5th.

Sonder opens up with “Buttons”. Serving as a swelling, shimmery introduction full of reverb and some brief, flitting keys, it welcomes the listener in before fading out to the next track. That track is “Parsimony”, and it is a blurry, whirring, shoegazy mess that’s honestly just an absolute joy to listen to. This is where the record...

Just like it says. Follow it, believe it, and acknowledge it.

Or don’t. I’m not your mom.

Whatever your life choices may be, here are all of my (non-review) opinion related pieces and journalistic endeavors in one tidy, easy to ignore place. The newest posts will be at the bottom.

“Introductions are always so awkward.” - Hello.

“Leave the bedroom and start making noise with other people.” - Why being in an actual band is important.

“My filthy pedigree.” - Where I’m coming from. Musically.

“Avant-garde-neo-sludge-neu-post-jazz-John-Cage-core-step. (A discussion on genre.)” - I use cheese to explain why if you’ve ever described a band using a genre name similar to the one above, you should be thrown off a bridge.

“DIY” - About bands crowd-funding their releases, tours, etc. A heartwarming coming of age tale of how I used to be a jerk, but blossomed into a much more tolerant...

Technology is a pretty wonderful thing. This band was already on the ever-increasing and horribly backlogged list of bands I hadn’t gotten a chance to listen to yet. When I say the word “backlog” it conjures up (in my mind, at least) an image of me hunched over a keyboard in a dimly lit room, crammed full of CD’s, obscure music magazines, and sheets of paper carelessly strewn about. And maybe a cat or something. Thankfully, technology has advanced to where “backlog” just means a folder on my laptop full of purchases from Bandcamp, a bookmarks bar full of my own favorite music blogs (shout out to Post-Engineering), and a text document with a bunch of copy & pasted links. Like I said, technology is pretty wonderful. And because it is, I/O were able to shoot me an email from Boston, Massachusetts, asking if I’d review their newest album Saudade. And I’m glad they did, because thankfully...

I mentioned in my introduction that I wouldn’t be posting negative reviews on PostInTheName. My justification when I wrote that was, and still is, that I don’t see a point in maintaining a blog with the purpose of telling people what not to listen to. I’ll be somewhat critical every now and then when I feel there’s merit, but I post these reviews to share what I think these bands have done right. People will find things they don’t like all on their own, and don’t need my help shining a light on any and every flaw on what is otherwise a good record. If someone really feels they need to be told what to hate and all the reasons why they should hate it, well, that’s what Pitchfork is for.

Another reason is that while I’m writing a review, I’m listening to that one album a lot. I don’t want to repeatedly listen to music I don’t care for any more than you do. But perhaps the most important...

Band: Nomia

Album: Iron and Rust

Label: Self-released

Release Date: July 15, 2014

A few weeks ago I wrote up a small piece to highlight the upcoming full length debut from one of my favorite Twin Cities bands, Nomia. Nomia was kind enough to share the entire album with me before it was officially available. Now that the release date is coming up, here is the full review for Iron and Rust. And yes, I’m still excited. And yes, you should be, too.

Right from the start, Iron and Rust does not sound like most records. There is no “fade in” present on so many (perhaps too many) records in the genre. Nor is there any attempt to jar listeners into attention with a sudden blast of noise. Rather, the opening number, “Palisades”, starts somewhere in between. The sudden introduction of all four instruments is surprising, but not abrasive, and as the track unfolds into its numerous sections...

This is a segment I’ve been wanting to do for a while, and it will not have a lot of installments. Its purpose is to give attention to (not review) albums which either have gone mostly unnoticed, or were a band’s only release before they broke up. Sometimes it might be a combination of the two. Regardless, they are albums that I want to share, because I think they are excellent and under-appreciated, and/or largely unknown.

The Artist: Suffocate For Fuck Sake

The Album: Blazing Fires And Helicopters On The Frontpage Of The Newspaper. There’s A War Going On And I’m Marching In Heavy Boots

Released: 2008

Suffocate For Fuck Sake were a band from Sweden that released what is, in my opinion, one of the best and most unique post-rock albums (and I don’t say this lightly) ever. I first listened to Blazing Fires And Helicopters… sometime in late 2010, and was taken aback by just how...

Hey, read this bold text, friend. The finished, complete, honest to goodness, full album review for Iron and Rust has been posted. You can check it out here.

Band: Nomia

Album: Iron and Rust

Label: Self-released

Release Date: July 15, 2014

I’ve never posted about a record that hasn’t come out yet, but I’ll make an exception here. Chances are, if you’re not from the Twin Cities or surrounding areas, you may have never heard of Nomia. I guarantee this will change, but for the uninitiated…

Nomia are a Minneapolis based instrumental post-rock/post-metal band founded in 2006. In late 2008, they released an excellent three track self-titled EP showcasing their own distinct blend of complex, interwoven guitar melodies, solid bass, and frantic, fill-heavy drums. Then, as far as releases go, they seemingly dropped off the face of the earth.

Thankfully, that’s not the case.

Over the...

For those who don’t recognize the album above, or for those who do but are wondering why there’s a picture of a seminal punk record on a blog dedicated to post-rock, I’ll give a short summary of its significance. Back in 1977, the Buzzcocks self-recorded and self-released their debut album, Spiral Scratch. Completely on their own, with no major label support.

You might be saying to yourself, “So what? My pothead cousin does that in his bedroom with a cracked version of Ableton and the mic on his Macbook.” Well, good for him. I’m sure his parents are just oh so proud. But this is not 1977. In 1977 Ableton wasn’t around, and when you said the word “apple” there was no confusion as to whether you were talking about a fruit or not.

I’ll spare you the long history lecture and summarize as best I can. This was the first record that truly challenged the notions that a band needed a major...