Our final installment of 2025’s Fall Music Preview travels around the world and realizes that everyone likes to rock, from placid beaches to war-torn streets. Music is a unifying force that reminds us of what we have in common and invites us to collaborate. When we broaden our perspectives, we learn that what we perceive as new sounds may actually be old sounds – even older than some of our nations.
Whatever your physical, emotional or spiritual situation, we hope that our week of previews has underlined a basic truth: that no matter how bad conditions may get, there’s always something good to look forward to. We wish you food, we wish you shelter, we wish you love, we wish you peace.
Our cover image is taken from The Dwarfs of East Aguouza‘s Sasquatch Landslide, covered below.
In more ways than one, the season’s biggest post-rock release is MONO‘s Forever Home: Live in Japan. Ever since their orchestral concert in NYC in 2009 (personal note: I was at that show!), the band has been defined by its expansive, multi-player shows. This double disc, three LP set includes a Blu-Ray concert performance of the entire OATH album, featuring the immense contributions of Japan’s Orchestra PITREZA. Think you know what loud is? Think again!
How much do you love The Necks? If your answer is “OMG I love The Necks!”, then the Australian trio is about to make your season complete. The band’s 20th album, Disquiet, is a three-hour, triple disc effort containing only four tracks, the shortest of which is a breezy 26 minutes and the longest of which is a sprawling one hour and 14 minutes. This also begs the question of whether the concerts will be three hours long or longer; could The Necks be the Grateful Dead of post-rock? (Northern Spy, October 10). In similar fashion, The Shell introduces its self-titled album with a fifteen-and-a-half minute single; now that’s how to go all out! The unusual trio of drums, saxophone and modular synthesizer produces epic, mood-driven tracks, with side forays into jazzy territories (released today on Epic Sleepers). Pedal steel and guitar are highlighted on the self-titled debut album from Nashville trio Shrunken Elvis. The music is in no hurry to arrive at its destination, but the feel is the appeal (out today).
Here’s an interesting tidbit about The Color of Cyan: their three albums have been released every other year, and all three bear fall release dates. The latest of these is As Human, released today and sporting hot red and ivory vinyl. The band’s string section pushes them to the next level, and the linoleum block art is a bonus. Norwegian post-rock trio Les Dunes has been releasing singles from their new album since January, simultaneously exciting fans and making them wait a long time for From Etne to the Edge of Space, finally released today on Kapitaen Platte. The ten-minute Vangen immediately draws the ear. Today the label is also releasing a special edition of Silt and Static from progressive/prog rockers Orsak:Oslo, simultaneously released on Vinter, previewed by the single Petals.
Russian post-rockers i am waiting for you last summer (also known as IAWFYLS) return this Halloween with Without/Within, led by the single Nulla, which demonstrates their widescreen capabilities. Some very pretty vinyl options are offered for V, the fifth album from Sydney post-rockers SEIMS. The brass and string sections are a great aid to the music, which soothes as much as it excites, often within the same track (Bird’s Robe/dunk!, October 10). Australia’s Kuiper offers space-based post-rock on Be Here Now, as demonstrated on “Enter Orbit,” the first sci-fi single and video from their sophomore album (September 26). MEZMER blends post-rock and classic rock on Melodrama, whose title track matches the mood (December 12).
Constellation Records is preparing a pair of intriguing releases for release on September 15. On Sasquatch Landslide, The Dwarfs of East Agouza play a sort of freeform groove whose timbre ranges from Middle Eastern trance to psychedelic jam. As the trio explains, “Sasquatch” derives from the Salish word se’sxac, which means “wild men.” The Lebanese sextet SANAM offers sociopolitical commentary on Sametou Sawtan (I Heard a Voice), influenced by the loneliness caused as people leave their native land. Arabic poetry blends with traditional Egyptian song to create a feeling of mingled sorrow and pride. Sometimes William Covert is solo, other times the leader of a trio. Each incarnation can be heard on Dream Vessel, and both rock hard (Coup sur Coup, October 17, pictured right). Prog and psych rock populate Paradigm Lost from the bicoastal Marmalade Knives. Those who miss the tones of classic rock will find them here, none the worse for wear (Electric Valley, September 26).
Lullaby for the Lost is a jazz album with a strong rock flavor. Led by the sax of Donny McCaslin, the septet knocks out a set of upbeat and occasionally raucous tunes guaranteed to get the heart racing and the blood pumping. “Wasteland” is an early highlight (Edition Records, September 26), The Ghent trio Steiger are preparing to release the amusingly titled Mowglowski’s First Take, and premiere single Gauchoman lets listeners know what to expect: a tongue-in-cheek approach with unexpected twists and turns, jazzy and rocking all at once. Also we think that is a peach on the cover, although we fear it is an animal’s rear end (October 17).
Now that’s a fun cover! Oasis Boom is clearly having a blast performing their music on the Cactus Bus, inviting listeners to get on board. A duo that doesn’t always sound like a duo (especially on “Waagon”), Oasis Boom alternates between the aridity and excitement, sometimes rocking, sometimes rolling, crossing the desert with aplomb (Dur & Doux, September 19). The polar (or perhaps we should say equatorial) opposite is BABON, whose Tropical Desert shares a similar theme, but with a laid-back and exploratory timbre, as heard on the single “Cacti Traveler.” The Indonesian trio references Ennio Morricone while sharing an urgent environmental message (Wonderwheel Recordings, September 26). Ironically for a band popularly billed as “desert rock legends,” Yawning Man opens its Bomba Negra video with footage of a big wave surfer. The music of Pavement Ends is far more languid (Heavy Psych Sounds, November 14). Med ett liv i behåll? (With one life preserved?) is the first single from Sweden’s Det enda bl.a. ~ part post-rock and part jazz. Debut album Som att börja gå nedför i en stillastående rulltrappa is out October 24 on Adrian.
Unclassifiable Slovenian trio Širom returns this fall with its signature blend of folk, world music, and post-post rock (if there is such a thing). Showcasing instruments such as the ribab, qeychak, balafon, gembri, morin khuur, balafon and tampura brač, In the Wind of Night offers not only entertainment, but education (Glitterbeat Records, October 3). Also on Glitterbeat, Slovenian trio Etceteral channels the spirit of The Comet Is Coming on Kimatika, with baritone sax leading the way. The album, released today, is a blend of krautrock and groove, exuding an electronic feel in an organic framework. Synth, guitar and drums are the core of Norwegian trio Einmal Immer, whose self-titled debut is out today on Playdate. The timbre is split between jazz, rock and electronic, and with each track named after a color, the set offers a synesthetic experience.
Blue Lake continues his incredible journey on The Animal, expanding on a solid base of steel guitar by becoming a full sextet. The album borders on modern composition, exuding a homespun warmth, feeding Appalachian folk through a small Danish orchestra (Tonal Union, October 3). Gwenifer Raymond delves into dark gothic folk on Last Night I Heard the Dog Star Bark, but the foreboding tone is offset by warm interludes such as “Dreams of Rhiannon’s Birds” and playful pieces such as “Cattywomp” (We Are Busy Bodies, out today). From fingerpicking to full band, Jon Camp‘s Proceed represents the evolution of an artist. While touching on both personal and societal themes, the album remains instrumental; one may glean the topics from the titles (Centripetal Force, October 17). A wide variety of instrumentation graces Weston Olenki‘s Broadsides, which veers from folk to drone, from Appalachian guitar to bowed autoharp. The album is a tribute to home, road trips and collected stories. “all my father’s clocks” is a highlight, the sampling of clocks suiting the name of the label (Outside Time, September 19). Somewhere between rock and drone lies Stefan Thelan & Markus Reuter‘s Rothko Spaces, Volume 4, the duo’s latest exploration of sound and the spaces in-between (iapetus, out today).
Albanian-Iranian-Lebanese trio L’Antidote creates warm tones on their self-titled debut album, steeped in memory and tradition, but with a modern flair. While tracks such as “Dates, Figs and Nuts” are playful, the album ends with the sorrowful “L’Ombre Qui Passe” (Ponderosa Music, September 19). The Norwegian word Døgnville means “feeling out of synch with time and reality,” a sensation that jazz music can often achieve. Liv Andrea Hauge Trio‘s album was written in a fever state and ranslated into music (out today on Hubro). London jazz quartet Lophae (pronounced “lo-fi”) returns with Imagine More, laying down the grooves while folding in funky percussion, leaving listeners in a happy daze (October 3). It’s Always About Love, says Ancient Infinity Orchestra, its warm uptempo vibes drawing from modern composition as well as jazz. The fifteen-strong ensemble plays a variety of instruments, both composed and improvised. Two dozen musicians are credited on Amall, as presented by the Rabbath Electric Orchestra, but the primary player is Francois Rabbath on double bass (Heavenly Sweetness, September 19).
Richard Allen
a closer listen 