POST-ROCK BANDS may be 10 a penny these days and there are only very few that truly have the class and skill to stand out from the rest.
Ireland is fortunate in that it has two of the best post-rock bands on the planet - The Redneck Manifesto and God Is An Astronaut.
God Is An Astronaut was formed by the German-Irish brothers Niels and Torsten Kinsella in Wicklow in 2002. They released their debut album The End Of The Beginning on their own Revive Records label in 2003.
Almost instantly, the brothers, along with drummer Lloyd, earned respect and a following for their atmospheric, hard driving, post-rock. The videos for ‘The End Of The Beginning’ and ‘From Dust To The Beyond’ notched up heavy rotation on MTV Europe.
MTV provided further exposure to the singles from the band’s 2005 album, All is Violent, All is Bright. The album defined the band’s trademark sound of intense build ups from serene ambience to searing intensity. On stage the band play while large projections of images to do with space travel, war, and technology are screened.
Two more albums followed - Far From Refuge (2007 ) and God Is An Astronaut (2009 ) - and GIAA continue to enjoy a loyal following and critical acclaim. As Drowned in Sound said: “This vocal-less combo engineer such startlingly fantastic pieces of music.”
God Is An Astronaut play the Róisín Dubh on Friday January 15 at 8pm. Tickets are available from the Róisín Dubh and Zhivago.
