Editing Post-rock

{{Short description|Rock music genre}}
{{Redirect|Post rock|other uses|Post Rock (disambiguation)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2022}}
{{Infobox music genre
|name              = Post-rock
|stylistic_origins = {{hlist|[[Krautrock]]|[[progressive rock]]|[[math rock]]|[[post-punk]]|[[indie rock]]|[[Ambient music|ambient]]|[[Avant-garde music|avant-garde]]|[[electronica]]|[[Contemporary classical music|contemporary classical]]|[[Psychedelic music|psychedelia]]|[[Dub music|dub]]|[[avant-garde jazz]]|[[cool jazz]]|[[space rock]]|[[Intelligent dance music|IDM]]|[[Minimal music|minimalism]]|[[Drone music|drone]]}}
|cultural_origins  = Late 1980s and early 1990s, United Kingdom, Canada and United States
|derivatives       = 
*[[Ambient music#Ambient pop|Ambient pop]]
*[[post-metal]]
*[[blackgaze]]<ref name="Guardian">{{cite news|title=Blackgaze: meet the bands taking black metal out of the shadows|url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2015/oct/05/blackgaze-bands-fusing-metal-and-shoegaze|work=The Guardian|date=5 October 2015|access-date=28 September 2017|first=Tom|last=Howells|quote=Enter 'blackgaze', the buzz term for a new school of bands taking black metal out of the shadows and melding its blast beats, dungeon wailing and razorwire guitars with the more reflective melodies of post-rock, shoegaze and post-hardcore.|archive-date=17 October 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151017162821/http://www.theguardian.com/music/2015/oct/05/blackgaze-bands-fusing-metal-and-shoegaze|url-status=live}}</ref>
|fusiongenres      = 
|regional_scenes   = 
|local_scenes   = 
* [[Bristol]]
* [[Chicago]]
* [[Montreal]]
|other_topics      = 
* [[Alternative rock]]
* [[art rock]]
* [[dream pop]]
* [[Electronic music#Indie_electronic|indie electronic]]
* [[industrial music]]
* [[turntablism]]
* [[jazz fusion]]
* [[noise rock]]
* [[post-hardcore]]<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://consequence.net/aux-out/dreamlab-the-semantics-of-post-rock/|title=Dreamlab: The Semantics of Post-Rock|last=Bloggins|first=Kenny|magazine=[[Consequence of Sound]]|date=3 April 2012|access-date=28 September 2017}}</ref>
* [[math rock]]
* [[Midwest emo]]
* [[post-progressive]]
* [[shoegaze]]
}}

'''Post-rock''' is a [[subgenre]] of [[experimental rock]] characterized by the exploration of [[Texture (music)|texture]]s and [[timbre]]s as well as non-[[Rock music|rock]] styles, often with minimal or no [[vocals]], placing less emphasis on conventional song structures or [[riff]]s than on atmosphere for musically evocative purposes.<ref name="allmusic"/><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.pressreader.com/uk/classic-rock/20171006/282754881899648|via=[[PressReader]]|title=Bark Pychosis|work=Classic Rock|date=6 October 2017|author=Everett True|author-link=Everett True|access-date=12 January 2018|archive-date=12 January 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180112214836/https://www.pressreader.com/uk/classic-rock/20171006/282754881899648|url-status=live}}</ref> Post-rock artists can often combine rock instrumentation and rock stylings with [[Electronic instrument|electronics]] and digital production as a means of enabling the exploration of textures, timbres and different styles.<ref name="The Wire May 1994"/><ref name="Pitchfork"/><ref name=allmusic>{{cite web|url=https://www.allmusic.com/style/post-rock-ma0000002790|title=Post-Rock|website=[[AllMusic]]|access-date=28 September 2017|archive-date=1 April 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200401155732/https://www.allmusic.com/style/post-rock-ma0000002790|url-status=live}}</ref> The genre emerged within the [[Indie (music)|indie]] and [[underground music]] scenes of the 1980s and 1990s, but as it abandoned rock conventions, it began to show less musical resemblance to conventional [[indie rock]] at the time.<ref name="Pitchfork"/><ref name="allmusic"/> The first wave of post-rock derives inspiration from diverse sources including [[Ambient music|ambient]], [[electronica]], [[jazz]], [[krautrock]], [[Psychedelic music|psychedelia]], [[Dub music|dub]], and [[Minimal music|minimalist classical]],<ref name=allmusic/> with these influences also being pivotal for the substyle of [[Ambient music#Ambient pop|ambient pop]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.allmusic.com/style/ambient-pop-ma0000012263|title=Ambient Pop|work=[[AllMusic]]|access-date=11 February 2024|archive-date=18 July 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170718000619/http://www.allmusic.com/style/ambient-pop-ma0000012263|url-status=live}}</ref>

Groups such as [[Talk Talk]] and [[Slint]] were credited with producing foundational works in the style in the late 1980s and early 1990s.<ref name=allmusic/><ref name="Pitchfork"/> The term "post-rock" was notably employed by journalist [[Simon Reynolds]] in a review of [[Bark Psychosis]]' 1994 album ''[[Hex (Bark Psychosis album)|Hex]]'', published in the March 1994 issue of ''[[Mojo (magazine)|Mojo]]'' magazine.<ref name="Mojo">{{cite magazine|url=http://www.rocksbackpages.com/article.html?ArticleID=5803|title=Bark Psychosis: ''Hex''|first=Simon|last=Reynolds|date=March 1994|access-date=8 July 2008|magazine=[[Mojo (magazine)|Mojo]]|archive-date=16 September 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120916165517/http://www.rocksbackpages.com/article.html?ArticleID=5803|url-status=live}}</ref> With the release of [[Tortoise (band)|Tortoise]]'s 1996 album ''[[Millions Now Living Will Never Die]]'', post-rock became an accepted term for the associated scene of artists.<ref name=allmusic/> The term has since developed to refer to bands oriented around dramatic and suspense-driven [[instrumental rock]], making the term controversial among listeners and artists alike.<ref name="Under the Radar">{{cite magazine|url=http://www.undertheradarmag.com/Issue%201/Interviews/Mogwai/mogwai.html|title=A Conversation with Mogwai's Dominic Aitchison|first=Mark|last=Redfern|magazine=[[Under the Radar (magazine)|Under the Radar]]|year=2001|access-date=28 November 2006|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20030212012329/http://www.undertheradarmag.com/Issue%201/Interviews/Mogwai/mogwai.html|archive-date=12 February 2003|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name="warp"/>

==Etymology==
The concept of "post-rock" was initially developed by Reynolds in the May 1994 issue of ''[[The Wire (magazine)|The Wire]]'' to describe music "using rock instrumentation for non-rock purposes, using guitars as facilitators of [[timbre]] and textures rather than [[riff]]s and [[power chord]]s". He further expounded on the term that {{quote|[p]erhaps the really provocative area for future development lies [...] in [[cyborg]] rock; not the wholehearted embrace of [[Techno]]'s methodology, but some kind of interface between real time, hands-on playing and the use of digital effects and enhancement.<ref name="The Wire May 1994">{{cite web|url=http://www.thewire.co.uk/out/1297_4.htm|title=S. T.|publisher=[[The Wire (magazine)|The Wire]]|first=Simon|last=Reynolds|date=May 1994|access-date=8 July 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20011202075606/http://www.thewire.co.uk/out/1297_4.htm|archive-date=2 December 2001|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name="The Wire 20">{{cite web|url=http://www.thewire.co.uk/about/history.html|title=The Wire 20|date=November 2002|access-date=8 July 2008|publisher=[[The Wire (magazine)|The Wire]]|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040817143035/http://www.thewire.co.uk/about/history.html|archive-date=17 August 2004|url-status=dead}}</ref>}}

Reynolds, in a July 2005 entry in his blog, said that he had used the concept of "post-rock" before using it in ''[[Mojo (magazine)|Mojo]]'', previously referring to it in a feature on Insides for music newspaper ''[[Melody Maker]]''.<ref name="blissblog">{{cite web|url=http://blissout.blogspot.com/2005_07_01_blissout_archive.html#112140209965630241|title=S. T.|first=Simon|last=Reynolds|date=14 July 2005|access-date=28 November 2006|publisher=blissblog|archive-date=31 March 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220331081441/https://blissout.blogspot.com/2005_07_01_blissout_archive.html#112140209965630241|url-status=live}}</ref> He also said he later found the term not to be of his own coinage, writing in his blog "I discovered many years later it had been floating around for over a decade."<ref name="blissblog"/> In 2021, Reynolds reflected on the evolution of the style, saying that the term had developed in meaning during the 21st century, no longer referring to "left-field UK guitar groups engaged in a gradual process of abandoning songs [and exploring] texture, effects processing, and space," but instead coming to signify "epic and dramatic instrumental rock, not nearly as post- as it likes to think it is."<ref name="warp">{{cite web |last1=Reynolds |first1=Simon |title=From Rapture to Rupt: The Journey of Seefeel |url=https://warp.net/editorial/from-rapture-to-rupt-the-journey-of-seefeel |website=Warp |access-date=23 May 2021 |archive-date=20 January 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220120101925/https://warp.net/editorial/from-rapture-to-rupt-the-journey-of-seefeel |url-status=live }}</ref>

Earlier uses of the term include its employment in a 1975 article by American journalist [[James Wolcott]] about musician [[Todd Rundgren]], although with a different meaning.<ref name="Wolcott">{{cite magazine|url=http://toddstuff.home.comcast.net/articles/TR-creem-exile.html|title=Todd Rundgren – Street Punk in Self-Imposed Exile|first=James|last=Wolcott|date=July 1975|access-date=8 July 2008|magazine=[[Creem]]|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071014050723/http://toddstuff.home.comcast.net/articles/TR-creem-exile.html|archive-date=14 October 2007|url-status=dead}}</ref> It was also used in the ''[[Rolling Stone Album Guide]]'' to name a style roughly corresponding to "[[Experimental rock|avant-rock]]" or "out-rock".<ref name="blissblog"/> The earliest use of the term cited by Reynolds dates back as far as September 1967. In a ''[[Time (magazine)|Time]]'' cover story feature on [[the Beatles]], writer Christopher Porterfield hails the band and producer [[George Martin]]'s creative use of the recording studio, declaring that this is "leading an evolution in which the best of current post-rock sounds are becoming something that pop music has never been before an art form."<ref name="blissblog"/> Another pre-1994 example of the term in use can be found in an April 1992 review of 1990s noise-pop band The Earthmen by Steven Walker in [[Melbourne]] music publication ''Juke'', where he describes a "post-rock noisefest".<ref name="Juke">{{cite web|url=http://www.suburbia.com.au/~snf/records/summersh/staceys.html|title=S. T.|first=Steven|last=Walker|date=April 1992|access-date=28 September 2017|publisher=Juke|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190616221432/https://www.suburbia.com.au/~snf/records/summersh/staceys.html|archive-date=16 June 2019|url-status=dead}}</ref>

==Characteristics==
[[Image:Reykjavik05a-01.jpg|thumb|right|Post-rock group [[Sigur Rós]] performing at a 2005 concert in [[Reykjavík]]]]
Post-rock incorporates stylings and traits from a variety of musical genres and scenes, including [[krautrock]], [[ambient music|ambient]],<ref name="BCPM">{{cite web|url=https://daily.bandcamp.com/2016/08/04/a-brief-history-of-post-metal/|title=A Brief History of Post-Metal|publisher=Bandcamp|first=Jon|last=Wiederhorn|date=4 August 2016|access-date=14 November 2017|archive-date=20 May 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170520183403/https://daily.bandcamp.com/2016/08/04/a-brief-history-of-post-metal/|url-status=live}}</ref> [[psychedelic music|psychedelia]],<ref name="BCPM" /> [[prog rock]], [[space rock]], [[math rock]], [[tape music]] and [[Recording studio as an instrument|other experimental recording techniques]], [[Minimal music|minimalist classical]], British [[Intelligent dance music|IDM]], [[jazz]] (both [[avant-garde jazz|avant-garde]] and [[cool jazz|cool]]), and dub,<ref name="allmusic"/> as well as [[post-punk]], [[free jazz]], [[contemporary classical music|contemporary classical]], and [[avant-garde]] [[electronica]].<ref name="avclub">{{cite news|url=https://www.avclub.com/article/picking-a-path-through-the-nebulous-terrain-of-pos-99239|title=Picking a path through the nebulous terrain of post-rock|newspaper=[[The A.V. Club]]|date=20 June 2013|access-date=28 September 2017|author=Heller, Jason|archive-date=15 May 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170515054751/http://www.avclub.com/article/picking-a-path-through-the-nebulous-terrain-of-pos-99239|url-status=live}}</ref> It can also bear similarities to [[drone music]], and usage of drones in [[psychedelic rock]].<ref name="coxwarner.359">Cox & Warner 2004, p. [https://books.google.com/books?id=FgDgCOSHPysC&vq=dronology&pg=PA359&sig=ACfU3U0HuS7q0UW-_E1qIjGHij4mj7q6Ew 359] (in "Post-Rock" by [[Simon Reynolds]]): "The Velvets melded folkadelic songcraft with a wall-of-noise aesthetic that was half Phil Spector, half La Monte Young—and thereby invented dronology, a term that loosely describes 50 per cent of today's post-rock activity." (about the [[Velvet Underground]] and post-rock)</ref><ref name="allmusic"/> Early post-rock groups often exhibited strong influence from the krautrock of the 1970s, particularly borrowing elements of the "[[motorik]]", the characteristic krautrock rhythm.<ref name="allmusic"/><ref name="Aural Innovations">{{cite web|url=http://www.aural-innovations.com/issues/issue16/postrok1.html|title=What Exactly Comes After Post-rock?|last=Henderson|first=Keith|publisher=Aural Innovations|date=June 2001|access-date=28 September 2017|archive-date=15 December 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071215104202/http://www.aural-innovations.com/issues/issue16/postrok1.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="Birdhouse.org">{{cite web|url=http://www.birdhouse.org/words/scot/post_rock.html|title=The Post-Rock Phenomenon|access-date=28 September 2017|publisher=[[Utne (magazine)|Utne Reader]]|first=Scot|last=Hacker|date=July 1996|archive-date=20 January 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110120173048/http://www.birdhouse.org/words/scot/post_rock.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="The Net Net">{{cite web|url=http://www.thenetnet.com/reviews/newelec.html|title=What You Need to Know About Electronica|access-date=28 September 2007|publisher=The Net Net|first=Chris|last=Tweney|date=May 1997|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070211080739/http://www.thenetnet.com/reviews/newelec.html|archive-date=11 February 2007|url-status=dead}}</ref>

Post-rock compositions can often make use of repetition of musical motifs and subtle changes with an extremely wide range of dynamics. In some respects, this is similar to the music of [[Steve Reich]], [[Philip Glass]] and [[Brian Eno]], pioneers of [[minimalism]] who were acknowledged influences on bands in the first wave of post-rock.<ref name="Aural Innovations"/> Post-rock pieces can be lengthy and instrumental, containing repetitive build-ups of [[timbre]]s, [[dynamics (music)|dynamics]] and textures.<ref name="The Wire May 1994"/> Vocals are often omitted from post-rock; however, this does not necessarily mean they are absent entirely. When vocals are included, the use is typically non-traditional: some post-rock bands employ vocals as purely instrumental efforts and incidental to the sound, rather than a more traditional use where "clean", easily interpretable vocals are important for poetic and lyrical meaning.<ref name="allmusic"/> When present, post-rock vocals are often soft or droning and are typically infrequent or present in irregular intervals, and have abstract or impersonal lyrics. [[Sigur Rós]], a band known for their distinctive vocals, fabricated a language they called "Hopelandic" ("Vonlenska" in Icelandic), which they described as "a form of gibberish vocals that fits to the music and acts as another instrument."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.sigur-ros.co.uk/band/faq.php#07|title=Sigur Ros frequently asked questions|access-date=28 September 2017|publisher=Eighteen Seconds Before Sunrise|archive-date=13 March 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090313083333/http://www.sigur-ros.co.uk/band/faq.php#07|url-status=live}}</ref>

Often, in lieu of typical rock structures like the [[verse-chorus form]], post-rock groups make greater use of soundscapes. [[Simon Reynolds]] states in his essay "Post-Rock" from ''Audio Culture'' that "A band's journey through rock to post-rock usually involves a trajectory from narrative lyrics to stream-of-consciousness to voice-as-texture to purely instrumental music".<ref>{{Cite book|last=Reynolds|first=Simon|author-link=Simon Reynolds|editor-last=Cox|editor-first=Christoph|editor2-last=Warner|editor2-first=Daniel|year=2004|title=Audio Culture: Readings in Modern Music|isbn=978-0-8264-1615-5|publisher=Continuum|location=New York}}</ref> Reynolds' conclusion defines the sporadic progression from rock, with its field of sound and lyrics to post-rock, where [[Sampling (music)|samples]] are manipulated, stretched and looped.

==History==
===Forerunners===
[[The Velvet Underground]] and their "[[Drone music|dronology]]" were referred to by Reynolds as having significantly influenced much "of today's post rock activity" in the first wave, especially with regards to the 1990s [[Space rock#1990s revival|space rock revival]].<ref name="Audio Culture: Readings in Modern Music">{{cite book |last=Reynolds |first=Simon |title=Audio Culture: Readings in Modern Music |publisher=Continuum International |year=2007 |isbn=978-0-8264-1615-5 |editor=Cox, Cristoph and Daniel Warner |page=359 |quote=Post-rock has its own sporadic but extensive history, which [post-rockers] draw on as much for the suggestiveness of its unrealized possibilities as for actual achievements. In terms of electric guitar, the key lineage runs from the Velvet Underground, through Germany's kosmic rock (Can, Faust, Neu!, Cluster, et al.) and the guitar-loop mosaics of Eno and Fripp, to late-1980s neopsychedelics as Jesus & Mary Chain, Spacemen 3, and A.R. Kane. The Velvets melded folkadelic songcraft with a wall-of-noise aesthetic that was half Phil Spector, half La Monte Young—and thereby invented dronology, a term that loosely describes 50 per cent of today's post-rock activity.}}</ref> In addition, the 1970s [[krautrock]] bands [[Can (band)|Can]], [[Neu!]], [[Faust (band)|Faust]] and [[Cluster (band)|Cluster]] equally influenced post-rock acts including [[Stereolab]]<ref name="Klein (2001)">{{cite news |last=Klein, Joshua |date=29 August 2001 |title=What the Bleep? Stereolab Does Some Actual Tunes |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/2001/08/29/what-the-bleep-stereolab-does-some-actual-tunes/f5ecba58-415b-4394-aac6-9ebf56f59e6e/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210112114142/https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/2001/08/29/what-the-bleep-stereolab-does-some-actual-tunes/f5ecba58-415b-4394-aac6-9ebf56f59e6e/ |archive-date=12 January 2021 |access-date=10 October 2019 |newspaper=The Washington Post}}</ref> and [[Mogwai]].<ref>{{Cite web |date=2014-08-14 |title=A Brief History of Post-Rock |url=https://thethinair.net/2014/08/a-brief-history-of-post-rock/ |access-date=2024-12-06 |website=The Thin Air |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2022-06-08 |title=NEU! 50th Anniversary Tribute Album Features The National, Mogwai, Guerilla Toss |url=https://www.stereogum.com/2189209/neu-50th-anniversary-reissue-tribute-album/news/ |access-date=2024-12-06 |website=Stereogum |language=en}}</ref>  

[[This Heat]], which formed in 1976, are regarded as having predated the genre with their significantly unconventional musical stylings and repetitive structures, while also being credited as an influence on bands in the first wave of post-rock.<ref name="m.pitchfork.com">{{cite web |author=Philip Sherburne |date=26 January 2016 |title=This Heat: This Heat/Health and Efficiency/Deceit Album Review |url=https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/21407-this-heathealth-and-efficiencydeceit/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160126170918/http://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/21407-this-heat-this-heathealth-and-efficiencydeceit/ |archive-date=26 January 2016 |access-date=28 September 2017 |website=Pitchfork}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |title=This Heat: the band who came in from the cold{{!}}Irish Times |url=https://www.irishtimes.com/culture/music/this-heat-the-band-who-came-in-from-the-cold-1.3399065 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201203140043/https://www.irishtimes.com/culture/music/this-heat-the-band-who-came-in-from-the-cold-1.3399065 |archive-date=3 December 2020 |access-date=30 October 2019 |newspaper=[[The Irish Times]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=This Heat - This Heat - Songs, Reviews, Credits |url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/this-heat-mw0000610992 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170929045427/http://www.allmusic.com/album/this-heat-mw0000610992 |archive-date=29 September 2017 |access-date=28 September 2017 |website=AllMusic}}</ref>

''[[Stylus Magazine]]'' observed that [[David Bowie]]'s 1977 album ''[[Low (David Bowie album)|Low]]'', produced by [[Brian Eno]], would have been considered post-rock if released twenty years later.<ref>{{cite magazine|url=http://stylusmagazine.com/articles/staff_top_10/top-ten-albums-on-which-the-sequencing-is-lost-on-cd.htm|title=Top Ten Albums on Which the Sequencing Is Lost on CD - Staff Top 10|magazine=Stylus Magazine|access-date=28 September 2017|archive-date=10 May 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120510040927/http://stylusmagazine.com/articles/staff_top_10/top-ten-albums-on-which-the-sequencing-is-lost-on-cd.htm|url-status=dead}}</ref> [[Louder (website)|Louder]] also described the English [[post-punk]] band [[Wire (band)|Wire]] as "the genre's godfathers," highlighting their 1979 studio album ''[[154 (album)|154]]'' as an early precursor that signposted the beginning of post-rock.<ref>{{Cite web |last=updated |first=Jerry Ewinglast |date=2022-10-14 |title=10 post-rock albums you should definitely own |url=https://www.loudersound.com/features/10-post-rock-albums-you-should-definitely-own |access-date=2024-12-06 |website=louder |language=en}}</ref>

British post-punk band [[Public Image Ltd]] have been seen as pivotal for post-rock, with the ''[[NME]]''<ref name="Plastic Box">{{cite web|url=https://www.nme.com/reviews/public-image-ltd/641|title=NME Reviews: Plastic Box|date=11 January 1999|access-date=8 July 2008|publisher=[[NME]]|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080610054006/http://www.nme.com/reviews/public-image-ltd/641|archive-date=10 June 2008|url-status=dead}}</ref> describing them as "arguably the first post-rock group". Their 1979 album ''[[Metal Box]]'' almost completely abandoned traditional rock structures in favor of dense, repetitive [[Dub music|dub]] and [[krautrock]] inspired soundscapes and [[John Lydon]]'s cryptic, stream-of-consciousness lyrics. The year before ''Metal Box'' was released, PiL bassist [[Jah Wobble]] declared that "rock is obsolete".<ref name="Frieze">{{cite journal|url=https://frieze.com/article/heavy-metal|title=Heavy Metal|publisher=Frieze Magazine|first=Simon|last=Reynolds|journal=Frieze|date=1 November 2007|issue=111|access-date=28 September 2017|archive-date=29 September 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170929044636/https://frieze.com/article/heavy-metal|url-status=live}}</ref>

===1990s: first wave===
[[File:Stereolab (1994).jpg|alt=|thumb|First wave post-rock group [[Stereolab]] performing at a 1994 concert]]
The term post-rock was first used to describe the texturally oriented, eclectic and [[electronica]]-tinged rock-adjacent [[Independent music|indie music]] of English bands such as [[Stereolab]],<ref name="Epitonic">{{cite web|url=http://www.epitonic.com/index.jsp?refer=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.epitonic.com%2Fartists%2Fstereolab.html|title=Stereolab biography|access-date=29 March 2007|publisher=Epitonic|date=27 August 2001|first=Jesse|last=Ashlock|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070927185017/http://www.epitonic.com/index.jsp?refer=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.epitonic.com%2Fartists%2Fstereolab.html|archive-date=27 September 2007|url-status=dead}}</ref> [[Moonshake]],<ref name="Dusted Reviews">{{cite web|url=http://www.dustedmagazine.com/reviews/1232|title=Dusted Reviews review of Minamo — Beautiful|access-date=29 March 2007|date=26 January 2004|publisher=Dusted Magazine|first=Charlie|last=Wilmoth|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091111155056/http://www.dustedmagazine.com/reviews/1232|archive-date=11 November 2009|url-status=dead}}</ref> [[Laika (band)|Laika]],<ref name="VH1">{{cite web|url=http://www.vh1.com/artists/news/1124379/20000924/laika.jhtml|access-date=8 July 2008|date=24 September 2000|publisher=[[VH1|VH1.com]]|title=Laika Kick Off U.S. Tour In Seattle|first=Doug|last=Levy|archive-date=29 June 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110629202158/http://www.vh1.com/artists/news/1124379/20000924/laika.jhtml|url-status=dead}}</ref> [[Disco Inferno (band)|Disco Inferno]],<ref name="Epitonic_DI">{{cite web|url=http://www.epitonic.com/index.jsp?refer=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.epitonic.com%2Fartists%2Fdiscoinferno.html|title=Disco Inferno biography|access-date=29 March 2007|date=10 August 2001|publisher=Epitonic|first=Jeanne|last=Acceturo|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070927185157/http://www.epitonic.com/index.jsp?refer=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.epitonic.com%2Fartists%2Fdiscoinferno.html|archive-date=27 September 2007|url-status=dead}}</ref> [[Seefeel]],<ref name="Pitchfork">{{cite web|url=http://samizdat.cc/shelf/documents/2005/07.11-lostGeneration/lostGeneration.pdf|title=The Lost Generation|access-date=28 September 2017|date=11 July 2005|first=Nitsuh|last=Abebe|publisher=[[Pitchfork Media]]|archive-date=15 August 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170815024321/http://samizdat.cc/shelf/documents/2005/07.11-lostGeneration/lostGeneration.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref> [[Bark Psychosis]], [[Pram (band)|Pram]] and [[Insides (band)|Insides]],<ref name="The Wire May 1994" /> many of which began in [[post-punk]] and [[shoegaze]] roots; these were largely deemed post-rock as such in Reynolds' music journalism.<ref name="The Wire May 1994"/> Bands from the early 1990s such as [[Slint]] (with ''[[Spiderland]]'') or, earlier, [[Talk Talk]] (with ''[[Laughing Stock]]''), were recognized as influential on post-rock by later music critics.<ref name="Pitchfork"/> Despite marked differences between the two bands, with Talk Talk emerging from [[art rock]] and [[New wave music|new wave]] and Slint emerging from [[post-hardcore]], they both have had a driving influence on the way post-rock progressed throughout the 1990s into the 2000s.<ref name="Pitchfork" /><ref name="allmusic"/>

Groups in [[Chicago]] such as [[Cul de Sac (group)|Cul de Sac]] as well as more ambient-oriented bands from the [[Kranky (record label)|Kranky]] label like [[Labradford]], [[Bowery Electric]], and [[Stars of the Lid]], are often cited as foundational to the American first wave of post-rock.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Reynolds|first = Simon|title=Back to the Future|journal=The Wire|volume=141|pages=26–30|date=November 1995}}</ref> The second Tortoise album ''Millions Now Living Will Never Die'' made the band a post-rock icon according to music critics,<ref name="Pitchfork"/><ref name="Splendid">{{cite web|url=http://www.splendidezine.com/review.html?reviewid=1081734856339505|title=Tortoise — It's All Around You|first=Phillip|last=Buchan|publisher=Splendid Magazine|date=13 April 2004|access-date=29 March 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070930020107/http://www.splendidezine.com/review.html?reviewid=1081734856339505|archive-date=30 September 2007|url-status=dead}}</ref> with bands such as [[Do Make Say Think]] beginning to record music inspired by the Chicago school.<ref name="Textura">{{cite web|url=http://www.textura.org/archives/d/domakeandyetreview.htm|title=Do Make Say Think — And Yet review|publisher=Textura|date=February 2003|access-date=28 September 2017|archive-date=3 March 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303165344/http://www.textura.org/archives/d/domakeandyetreview.htm|url-status=live}}</ref> [[John McEntire]] of Tortoise and [[Jim O'Rourke (musician)|Jim O'Rourke]] of [[Gastr Del Sol]] were prominent in the movement, with them both also producing multiple albums by Stereolab in the 1990s and 2000s.<ref>P. Buckley, ''The Rough Guide to Rock'', (Rough Guides, 1999), {{ISBN|1858284570}}, P. 913</ref>

In 2000, [[Radiohead]] released the studio album ''[[Kid A]]'', marking a significant turning point in their musical style. Reynolds described it and the 2001 follow-up album ''[[Amnesiac (album)|Amnesiac]]'' as major examples of post-rock in the style that had been established by the first wave, incorporating influences from krautrock, space rock, jazz and electronica into the band's indie rock music; he noted that the success of the albums showed that the style had made a mainstream breakthrough.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.spin.com/2015/10/radiohead-kid-a-review-spin-magazine-simon-reynolds-2000 |title=Classic Reviews: Radiohead, 'Kid A' |author=Simon Reynolds |work=Spin |date=2 October 2015 |access-date=21 January 2017 |archive-date=19 January 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170119081816/http://www.spin.com/2015/10/radiohead-kid-a-review-spin-magazine-simon-reynolds-2000/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="SPIN">{{cite web| last = Reynolds| first = Simon| title = Radio Chaos| work = Spin| date = October 2000| url = http://www.followmearound.com/presscuttings.php?year=2000&cutting=88| access-date = 23 April 2007| url-status = dead| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20070927211400/http://www.followmearound.com/presscuttings.php?year=2000&cutting=88| archive-date = 27 September 2007}}</ref>

Another eminent post-rock locale was Montreal, where [[Godspeed You! Black Emperor]] and related groups, including [[Thee Silver Mt. Zion Memorial Orchestra & Tra-La-La Band|Silver Mt. Zion]] and [[Fly Pan Am]], released music on [[Constellation Records (Canada)|Constellation Records]];<ref>{{cite news|url=http://media.www.mcgilltribune.com/media/storage/paper234/news/2002/11/19/AE/Post-Rock.A.Movement.Of.The.90s.Still.Kickin-326959.shtml|title=Post-rock: a movement of the 90s still kickin'|date=19 November 2002|work=McGill Tribune|access-date=29 March 2007|first=Ian|last=Weinberger|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070928020937/http://media.www.mcgilltribune.com/media/storage/paper234/news/2002/11/19/AE/Post-Rock.A.Movement.Of.The.90s.Still.Kickin-326959.shtml|archive-date=28 September 2007|url-status=dead}}</ref> these groups are generally characterized by a melancholy and [[Dynamics (music)#Changes|crescendo]]-driven style rooted in, among other genres, [[chamber music]], ''[[musique concrète]]'' techniques and [[free jazz]] influences.<ref name="Aural Innovations"/>

===2000s–2010s: second and third waves===
[[Image:Mogwai-799171169.jpg|thumb|left|Post-rock group [[Mogwai]] performing at a 2007 concert]]
In the early 2000s, the term became divisive with both music critics and musicians, with it being seen at the time as falling out of favor.<ref name="Stylus">{{cite magazine|url=http://www.stylusmagazine.com/reviews/tortoise/a-lazarus-taxon.htm|title=Review of Tortoise's A Lazarus Taxon|first=Todd|last=Hutlock|magazine=Stylus Magazine|access-date=28 November 2006|date=1 September 2006|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060917055800/http://www.stylusmagazine.com/reviews/tortoise/a-lazarus-taxon.htm|archive-date=17 September 2006|url-status=dead}}</ref> It became increasingly controversial as more critics outwardly condemned its use.<ref name="allmusic"/> Some of the bands for whom the term was most frequently assigned, including Cul de Sac,<ref name="Cul de Sac Interview">{{cite web|title=Cul de Sac Interview|url=http://people.bu.edu/nsmith/interview.htm|access-date=28 September 2017|archive-date=24 December 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171224191746/http://people.bu.edu/nsmith/interview.htm|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="Cul de Sac Interview 2">{{cite web|title=Interview with Cul de Sac's Glenn Jones|url=http://www.furious.com/PERFECT/culdesac.html|publisher=Perfect Sound Forever|access-date=29 November 2006|date=March 1998|first=Dave|last=Lang|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061208180514/http://www.furious.com/perfect/culdesac.html|archive-date=8 December 2006|url-status=dead}}</ref> Tortoise,<ref name="Stylus"/> and Mogwai,<ref name="Under the Radar" /> rejected the label. The wide range of styles covered by the term, they and others have claimed, robbed it of its individuality.<ref name="SFGate">{{cite news|url=http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/gate/archive/2005/05/12/derk.DTL|title=Hear & Now|date=12 May 2005|access-date=28 September 2017|newspaper=San Francisco Gate|first=Derk|last=Richardson|archive-date=27 November 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111127112039/http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/gate/archive/2005/05/12/derk.DTL|url-status=live}}</ref>

As part of the second wave of post-rock, the bands Godspeed You! Black Emperor, [[Sigur Rós]], Mogwai, [[Explosions in the Sky]], [[65daysofstatic]], [[This Will Destroy You]], [[Do Make Say Think]], and [[Mono (Japanese band)|Mono]] became some of the more popular post-rock acts of the new millennium.<ref name="Gigwise">{{cite news|url=http://www.gigwise.com/features/29326/bang-on-explosions-in-the-sky|title=Bang On: Explosions in the Sky|first=Laura|last=Babbili|date=15 March 2007|access-date=9 March 2007|work=Gigwise|archive-date=12 May 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140512222639/http://www.gigwise.com/features/29326/bang-on-explosions-in-the-sky|url-status=live}}</ref> Sigur Rós, with the release of ''[[Ágætis byrjun]]'' in 1999, became among the most well known post-rock bands of the 2000s due to the use of many of their tracks, particularly their 2005 single "[[Hoppípolla]]", in TV soundtracks and film trailers. These bands' popularity was attributed to a move towards a more conventional rock oriented sound with simpler song structures and increasing utilization of pop hooks, also being regarded as a new atmospheric style of indie rock.<ref>[{{AllMusic|class=album|id=r1397505|pure_url=yes}} Allmusic review: Sigur Rós – Með suð í eyrum við spilum endalaust]</ref>

Following a 13-year hiatus, [[experimental rock]] band [[Swans (band)|Swans]], who had been regarded as influencing post-rock, began releasing a number of albums that were described as post-rock, most notably ''[[To Be Kind]]'' which was acclaimed by [[AllMusic]] at the end of 2014.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.allmusic.com/year-in-review/2014/favorite-indie-pop-and-indie-rock-albums |title=Favorite Indie Pop and Indie Rock Albums{{!}}AllMusic 2014 in Review |website=[[AllMusic]] |access-date=30 October 2019 |archive-date=28 March 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190328232008/https://www.allmusic.com/year-in-review/2014/favorite-indie-pop-and-indie-rock-albums |url-status=live }}</ref>

Wider experimentation and blending of other genres have taken hold in the post-rock scene. [[Cult of Luna]], [[Isis (band)|Isis]], [[Russian Circles]], [[Palms (band)|Palms]], [[Deftones]], and [[Pelican (band)|Pelican]] fused [[heavy metal music|metal]] with post-rock styles, with the resulting sound being termed [[post-metal]]. More recently, [[sludge metal]] has grown and evolved to include (and in some cases fuse completely with) some elements of post-rock. This second wave of sludge metal has been pioneered by bands such as [[Giant Squid (band)|Giant Squid]] and [[Battle of Mice]]. This new sound is often seen on the label of [[Neurot|Neurot Recordings]].<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2005/09/20/arts/the-alchemy-of-artworld-heavy-metal.html|work=The New York Times|date=20 September 2005|first=Jon|last=Caramanica|access-date=28 September 2017|title=The Alchemy of Art-World Heavy Metal|archive-date=18 February 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180218003017/http://www.nytimes.com/2005/09/20/arts/the-alchemy-of-artworld-heavy-metal.html|url-status=live}}</ref> Similarly, bands such as [[Altar of Plagues]], Lantlôs and [[Agalloch]] blend between post-rock and [[black metal]], incorporating elements of the former while primarily using the latter.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://decibelmagazine.com/Content.aspx?ncid=295657|title=Altar of Plagues|publisher=Red Flag Media|work=Decibel Magazine|access-date=10 March 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100206120525/http://decibelmagazine.com/Content.aspx?ncid=295657|archive-date=6 February 2010|url-access=subscription |first=Zena|last=Tsarfin|url-status=dead}}</ref> In some cases, this sort of experimentation and blending has gone beyond the fusion of post-rock with a single genre, as in the case of post-metal, in favor of an even wider embrace of disparate musical influences as it can be heard in bands like [[Deafheaven]].

==See also==
*[[List of post-rock bands]]
*[[Post-metal]]
*[[Electronic music]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

{{Rock music}}
{{Experimental music genres}}
{{Electronic rock}}
{{Avant-garde}}
{{Alternative rock}}
{{Authority control}}
{{Wikiquote}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Post-Rock}}
[[Category:Post-rock| ]]
[[Category:Alternative rock genres]]
[[Category:Electronic rock]]
[[Category:1980s in music]]
[[Category:1990s in music]]
[[Category:2000s in music]]
[[Category:2010s in music]]
[[Category:Rock music genres]]