What next? is a question that constantly raises – as a need rather than as bored luxury – its head to push development; be it technology, art, adventure, evolution (where do you think the X-men came from?). I’ve never understood the genre of music called post-rock, not so much the music but the name itself. For that matter I don’t get proto punk, grindcore or any of the gazillion metal sub-genre names. Yup, I’m quite old school. To me post rock seems more a question, a search for that what next? after traditional rock. Which really leaves it open as a wide field, doesn’t it?

aswekeepsearching seems to partly answer that post-rock conundrum and not just with its clever name. The band came out with an EP, “Growing Suspicions” (somebody in there is really a master of names) a few months back which quickly became one of my favourite releases of 2014. The quartet which is just about an year old plays with an assurance that would be the hallmark of more experienced musicians. The band members are not bothered with getting quick ‘wins’ using gratuitous short blasts preferring instead to create a lush soundscape using even the human voice as a texture; songs that thoughtfully and gradually build from languid starts to a full, rich sound. It’s futile to pick favourites here because not often do I come across such a consistently high quality set of songs as on this EP. It’s not surprising then that aswekeepsearching’s upcoming full album is, to my mind, one of the most anticipated releases of this year.

P.S.: I’m not entirely convinced of the quality of or the need for the 2 remixes at the end of the EP but that’s perhaps just an indicator of the band’s desire to keep evolving.