Top 10 Best Post-Rock Instrumental Bands: Godspeed, Caspian, Russian Circles, Explosions in the Sky, Mono
With last week’s announcement that Caspian (not to be confused with Far Caspian, who formed 14 years after the much better band mentioned earlier in this sentence) are coming back after a six-year break, it seemed somewhat fitting to remind those of you who aren’t terribly familiar with instrumental post-rock to get educated. Not only is the subgenre all too often overlooked – because the bands feature neither lyrics nor a shamelessly self-promoting frontman to promote them – it’s also a cohort whose music is both ensconcing for picky underground-music enthusiasts but also generally appealing for grandparents, regardless of they wear hearing aids.
With the longest sentence ever written this side of James Joyce’s Ulysses, one note before we begin: Mogwai would’ve topped this list without a second thought had the Glasgoweenies not introduced vocals later into their career. Same goes with Trans Am, The Album Leaf, Battles and Hella. Now that we’re done venting, here’s The Bad Penny‘s list of Best Post-Rock Instrumental Bands, which our recommended album noted in each entry:
1. Godspeed You! Black Emperor‘s Lift Your Skinny Fists Like Antennas to Heaven (2000)
2. Red Sparowes‘ At the Soundless Dawn (2005)
3. Don Caballero‘s American Don (2000)
4. Explosions in the Sky‘s Those Who Tell the Truth Shall Die, Those Who Tell the Truth Shall Live Forever (2001)
5. Caspian‘s You Are the Conductor & the Four Trees (2011)
6. Russian Circles‘ Geneva (2009)
7. This Will Destroy You‘s Vespertine (2020)
8. 65daysofstatic‘s Fugue State (2019)
9. Mono‘s Walking Cloud and Deep Red Sky, Flag Fluttered and the Sun Shined (2004)
10. Maserati‘s The Language of Cities (2002)
Finally, to tide you over until the October 16 release of Caspian’s sixth and self-titled album, due on Wax Bodega, here’s a promotional video hyping its first single:
The Bad Penny (beta) 
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