Post-Rock Paradise : aCr’s “ghost note manifest ep”

The resurgence of 90’s era post-hardcore has not gotten the same outpouring other subgenres might have experienced. There was a burst of bands who paid tribute to the more gritty Amp Rep vein. The Jesus Lizard was getting winks from several bands a couple of years ago, but nothing as passionate as the D.C. scene Fugazi stirred up in the wake of Minor Threat in the early 90’s that paved the wave for bands like Sunnyday Real Estate, Texas is the Reason and Planesmistakenforstars. The first band to offer that kind of hope is actually coming from the Lone Star state.

One thing aCr’s ep ghost note manifest carries is both the raw emotional release and the angular attack of Fugazi’s bastard children from that era. The opening track explodes with a jarring syncopation that has almost creates the robotic punch of industrial, if it wasn’t so organically reckless. This is even more impressive given the fact that, aside from the use of session drummers, the rest of the instrumentation is preformed by Alvaro Che Rodriguez of the band Liquid Casing.

This ep frequently touches on the sort of angular attack found in the post-hardcore coming out of D.C. in the 90’s. The chaotic jangle of guitars in collision is remeniscent of Drive Like Jehu, if set against a stark post-apocalyptic soundtrack. The vocals have a more abstract cadence to them than the approach Ian Mckaye used in pre-Steady Diet of Nothing Fugazi. There is less drill sergeant commanding and more introspection. Almost like Cedric during his At the Drive In days, before he began cosplaying as Robert Plant. The guitars are jagged and lacerating. They snarl out into sweeping passages that are blended with swelling feedback and static, dripping from the frayed edges of wandering bridges, congealing together. While many of these songs leave you guessing, this ep makes for twelve of the most engaging moments in post-hardcore, this year or since Planesmistakenforstars broke up.