We typically bring you monthly roundups of the best videos we come across – and you seem to like ’em, as they comprise one of the more popular series on The Bad Penny. But lately we’ve noticed an increasing number of artists going full throttle and making longer, more fully realized (and presumably more expensive) short films to accompany their music. Here are the best 10 we’ve found in recent months:
1. Deafheaven‘s “Hunter” (released 10.9.26)
2. Caspian‘s “A Great Fire” (released 10.16.26)
This is a special year for instrumental post-rock behemoths Caspian. Not only does it mark 20 years since the recording of the Massachusetts band’s debut, The Four Trees, but today sees the release of a new album (released on Wax Bodega) that they named after themselves. More than five years in the making, the sixth album by Caspian – featuring Philip Jamieson (guitar and synth), Calvin Joss (guitar), Jonny Ashburn (guitar), Jani Zubkovs (bass) and Justin Forrest (drums) – marks the longest stretch between studio releases in the band’s career.
Here’s a taste from Caspian’s new release:
The Bad Penny recently touched base to pick the brains of Caspian – born and bred in Beverly, Massachusetts – on what they consider to be the top 10 bands hailing from their home state. (The band member that vouched for each act is listed in parenthesis.) Conspicuously absent from the list is Converge, but we’ll let that slide since they ranked Mission of Burma above Aerosmith.
(For their own part, Caspian came in at #5 on The Bad Penny‘s recently crafted list of best instrumental bands.)
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@ – Autosmile LP (4AD)
Amakiya – Archetype (Spaceflight)
Angèle – Instinct (GGL)
Antania – The Unholy 33 (Agronauta)
Ashe – The Girl of Your Dreams (Atlantic)
Avalanches – No Bad Memories (featuring Mike Patton, Panda Bear) (Interscope/Capitol)
Badvril – Lethal (Share It Must)
James Barrett – Now That I’ve Seen the Light (OK Sweet)
Billboard Style – Pull of the Moon (Good English)
Body Stuff – 5 (The Chain)
• The Visionaries: Curran Reynolds (ex-Today Is the Day) Talks About Spreading Love With Body Stuff Band in Rare Chat
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)
