Mat's Top Releases of 2011

There have been a lot of releases that I didn't expect to end up on here, and a fair share that should have been on here, but didn't make it. I'm as surprised as you, dear reader. But no matter - this is my list. You may not agree, but at least listen to what I have to say before you shout profanities at me. Read below for albums including those by Across Waters, Russian Circles, Moonlit Sailor, Tides From Nebula, and many more.

Album Review: Tides From Nebula - Earthshine

Every now and again, a new and very memorable name in post-rock surfaces, and really sticks as a sound and name to be remembered. In this, Warsaw is lucky to have Tides of Nebula, because this band is golden. I'd never heard anything of them before this record, but after listening to it, I don't know if I want to hear anything else. The artistic, emotional feel of this album is so fantastic throughout that it's hard to draw away from it.

Haunting, puzzling, aesthetic throughout, the feel of the album stems from the first song, "These Days, Glory Days". Ethereal melodies float through a discordant ambiance, steadily growing and stretching, eventually forming into a buildup and a cathartic chorus of awe-filled, cloudy harmonies. A calm, pensive bridge leads up to a reprise of the chorus, and then an egression of that powerful, moving melody begins to dissipate into slower and slower moving, separate tunes of their own, eventually fading away.