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post rock that is hopeful and not sad.

metabit1837

hi. im new here. i got introduced to post rock like 4 months ago and i was like DAMN this is it, this is the ultimate genre! like so beautiful! sometimes it feels like a a rewarding work, like you listen to a 20 min song for THE MOMENT and the pleasure u get is like drugs.

but iv come to realize them are kinda sad. and the sad ones are insanely sad. im naturally a cheerful and thoughtful person. like i understand the hopeful ones but i really dont connect with the sad ones because of my beliefs. like u listen to something and you are like how can this person have so much sadness?

so my question is what projects should i look into that are more hopeful and not sad?
post rock that is hopeful.
post rock that is about deep thinking.(different from sad)

jack-m

Hey, welcome to the community! Always great to see someone discovering the genre.

I totally get what you mean about the sad side of post-rock. There's a lot of it, and some of it hits hard. But there's plenty of hopeful, uplifting stuff too.

If you haven't checked them out yet, Explosions in the Sky is probably the first band that comes to mind for hopeful post-rock. Their album "The Earth Is Not a Cold Dead Place" is basically the definition of what you're looking for. "Your Hand in Mine" and "First Breath After Coma" are both about new beginnings and moving forward.

Another favorite of mine is And So I Watch You From Afar (ASIWYFA). Their self-titled album is pure joyful energy guitars bouncing off each other, nothing bleak about it. Try "Set Guitars to Kill" if you want something that actually makes you feel like jumping around.

God Is an Astronaut is also worth your time. They lean more uplifting and driving. "All Is Violent, All Is Bright" has some incredible moments that feel more expansive and hopeful than sad.

And if you want something more on the thoughtful/contemplative side that isn't sad, The Album Leaf is great. Gentle, warm, optimistic "Into the Blue Again" is a good starting point.

What kind of music were you listening to before you found post-rock? Always curious what draws people in.

metabit1837

jack-m damn thats a detailed recommendation. nice. ill listen to every one of them.

actually i used to listen to mostly rock and metal.
i kinda listened to almost all kind of genres but always liked the more emotional songs. one of the reasons i kinda dont like pop. it feels too fake.

after sometime i kinda disliked how some of the lyrics were not meaningful or didnt connect with me so i started listening to more songs without lyrics.

i listened to classical and new age too. really love olafur arnalds and nils frahms.
i also listened to instrumental rock and just love buckethead.

after seeing all the artist and their stuff, like seeing an artist cheat on his wife or another artist write a song to get more famous or an metal artist just singing the same old sad song for the 100th time i realized they kinda lied with their art. like it didnt feel like ART anymore.

and then i found post rock. these insanely patient artist who literally no one knows just making such emotional songs and being hones. i fell in love with it right away. like u see this long and emotional songs and such honest emotions.

sorry for blabbering. what about u? how did u find post rock?

Mahdi

I think the list above is pretty good also you could maybe check Tides from Nebula, Long Distance Calling and Sleepmakeswaves

on the idea of post-rock being sad, I've been puzzling a lot on that. as someone who tried to introduce post-rock to pretty much everyone i know, I'd say i've gotten this feedback that post-rock is sad a lot. but personally for me the way that post-rock connected with me a different level of emotions.

I agree there is a intense element of depression in them, but i would say that comes more from the depth's that the music can take you into, and I would say that is not sadness. its beyond that, its the moment when you are done with the sadness and accepted it. at least for me.

jack-m

it was a slow burn over years. I listened to a lot of instrumental movie scores and soundtrack stuff, and eventually the algorithm fed me Ashes in the Snow by Mono without me really knowing what post-rock was. That track just hit different, and it snowballed from there. No dramatic story, just the right music at the right time.

metabit1837

jack-m
nice, seems like a fated encounter to me. like kinda drifting to were u belong.