10 Great Obscure Post-Rock Bands

Music genres can be notoriously difficult to define, and there will always be fuzzy edges and overlaps. That said, the particular niche known as post-rock offers perhaps one of the most intriguing prospects in modern music, utilizing classic rock instruments but largely eschewing traditional song-structures to focus on texture and mood.

Bands such as Slint, Talk Talk, Bark Psychosis and Tortoise laid down the template, fusing electronica with drums and guitars, and embracing a more ambient, abstract approach. Go back a little way further and you will find post-rock's precursors in the form of The Velvet Underground and Public Image Ltd, who took inspiration from the avant garde and underground counter-culture as much as they did rock 'n roll.

In the '90's and beyond, the UK's Radiohead, of course, did much to popularize the post-rock aesthetic, with lengthy, slow-burning songs that sacrificed obvious hooks in favour of nuance and subtlety. America's Explosions In The Sky and Iceland's Sigur Ros are other worthy contributors, alongside a host of similarly big names who continue to explore this fertile territory.

We all know, however, that talent does not always equal commercial success. For every Swans there is a not-so-ugly duckling, deserving of more attention than they have so far received. Below you will find ten fine examples of great post-rock outfits whose skill and innovation far exceed their sales figures.

Austrian ambient/post-rock outfit Our Ceasing Voice formed in 2006 amidst the Tyrolean Alps, in the city of Innsbruck. Nestling in a broad valley between majestically soaring mountains, Innsbruck, noted for its winter sports activities, perfectly reflects this band's towering, glacial compositions.

A dark and wistful melodic sensibility permeates this group's music, which soars to some impressively mighty peaks, not least thanks to the prowess of lead singer Dominik Dörfler, whose deeply affecting vocals can't help but remind you of Crash Test Dummies' Brad Roberts. Dörfler's delivery seems to reach down toward the granite roots of the mountains, rumbling and roaring with naked emotion.

Sebastian Obermeir (guitars, synths) and Markus Rappold (drums) round out this remarkable trio. From their own official bio: "Austrian ambient rockers, Our Ceasing Voice, have always thrived on change. At the heart of their new sound are vocals as distinctive as the music itself: dark and poetic, dramatic and brave."

You can find their latest album, Free Like Tonight, on Bandcamp, and what a wonderful listen it is.