Post-rock

Post-rock is a subgenre of experimental rock that emphasizes texture, atmosphere, and non-traditional song structures over conventional rock techniques. Post-rock acts can often combine rock instrumentation and stylings with unorthodox elements, such as patterns and minimal arrangements, or electronics and digital production, as a means of enabling the exploration of textures, timbres and different styles. Vocals, when present, can be used as an instrumental layer, with many bands opting for entirely instrumental compositions, although some still engage with the verse–chorus form. The genre is associated with the indie and underground music scenes.

The term post-rock was coined by music journalist Simon Reynolds and eventually popularized in his review of Bark Psychosis' 1994 album Hex. He later expanded the concept as music "using rock instrumentation for non-rock purposes". In the 2000s, the term narrowed to refer to bands oriented around dramatic and suspense-driven instrumental rock, making its continuing usage controversial among listeners and artists alike.

Groups such as Talk Talk and Slint are credited with producing foundational works in the style in the late 1980s and early 1990s. The release of Tortoise's 1996 album Millions Now Living Will Never Die led to post-rock becoming an established term for the genre in music criticism and journalism. In its second wave, post-rock diversified into subgenres, influencing indie rock, electronica, forms of metal, and other styles.