Krautrock encompassed way too many styles and ideas to truly be considered
a single movement. 1970s group Faust incorporated pop sensibilities with
rhythmic experiments and tape loops, while other groups like Neu! and
Kraftwerk strove to sound as cold and mechanical and devoid of humanity as
possible. Can drew heavily on American minimalism and German classical
music to create incredibly beautiful and concise rock music, while Popol Vuh
took rock instruments and created ambient music that sounded both futuris-
tic and incredibly ancient.
Math rock (1990s)...............................................................................
Math rock developed in the 1990s as a direct rebellion against rock and roll’s
traditional 4/4 beat. Math rock is based on complex time signatures such as
7/8, 11/8, or 13/8, giving the music a definite irregular feel.
Perhaps because of the complexity of the music, lyrics aren’t a big part of most
of these songs. Albums from bands like Slint, Don Cabellero, June of 44, and
Bastro were often instrumental-only, whereas other bands such as Shellac,
early Modest Mouse, and U.S. Maple included such truly discordant and free-
form lyrics in their songs they felt as though they were put there simply to
throw off the traditional rock music fan even further.
Post-rock (1980s–present).................................................................
Post-rock can almost be considered the direct descendant of the ambient rock
of Krautrock. All the traditional rock instruments are there — guitar, percus-
sion, bass, keyboards — but they are used in completely different ways than
in old-fashioned rock and roll. Guitar feedback and static are used to create
gorgeous backdrops of ambient sound. Layers of keyboard washes are used
to fill in the spaces between notes. Vocals — if there are any — are recorded
at the same levels as the instruments, instead of on top of the music, so that
the listener’s attention isn’t immediately drawn to them.
As with the Krautrock genre, the bands that are considered post-rock vary
incredibly in construction and sound. The Kentucky band Rachel’s is put
together like a chamber ensemble, using stringed instruments and piano
along with guitars and keyboards, turning out instrumentals that are too dark
and tense for most classical audiences, yet not “rock” enough to be consid-
ered truly rock and roll. England’s Stereolab puts out pleasant pop songs that
are so densely layered it’s hard to tell where one instrument ends and another
one (including the vocals) begins. Canada’s Godspeed You Black Emperor!
builds incredibly intense arrangements out of traditional rock instruments,
drawing both on the traditions of minimalism and ambient music.
Chapter 23: Ten Periods of Music History to Explore 285