Various Artists From Monument to Masses:Schools of Thought Contend
Post-rock has long been criticized for a certain intellectual firmness. Yet what differentiates the great […]
Post-rock has long been criticized for a certain intellectual firmness. Yet what differentiates the great bands is the ability to balance the right and left lobes, thus yielding head-nodding tunes with thought provoking results. Like former Merck stars Tiki Obmar or Brooklyn’s Turing Machine, the Bay area trio From Monument to Masses has achieved this equilibrium with a sturdy mix of elaborate instrumentation and politically-inspired samples. Schools of Thought Contend offers two new tracks but more importantly includes 13 remixes more varied than a post-graduate curriculum. From Thunderbirds Are Now!’s restrained redux of “The Quiet Before” to the frenetic breakbeat treatment of “Old Robes” by Antimc, Schools of Thought Contend proves that for all of post-rock’s supposed inflexibility a lot can be shaped from its parts.