Album Review: Solkyri - Are You My Brother?

Of all things that make the genre tick, the driving force behind post-rock music is most notably the careful instrumentation and intricately mapped-out dynamism. Think of all the greats of the genre – GY!BE, Mogwai, Mono – it's safe to say that the common denominator between these artists is how mind-bogglingly well they utilise textures and timbre. Sydney trio Solkyri are no exception to the rule, with their debut album Are You My Brother? being firmly rooted in the beautiful complexities of the genre. This time around, Solkyri have made a subtle departure from the solely post-rock tracklist of the 2011 EP No House, with the addition of an indie-rock backbone propelling each track in the album.

The tracklist of Are You My Brother?, much like their previous six-track release, consists of characteristically post-rock song titles – that is to say a good majority of the songs on Are You My Brother? are obscurely titled and run close to or longer than five minutes in duration – save for the softer and far less dynamic two/three-minute-long tracks Glory and Oklahundt. His Ghosts Will Invade Puerto Rico serves as the perfect opener for the album, encapsulating the entire contents of the nine-track album in close to 14 minutes. The song traverses from gentle, twinkling arrangements to a much fuller, encompassing sound – a pattern which is explored throughout the 54 minutes of the album.

There are a lot of experimental post-rock bands, and while Solkyri are undoubtedly brilliant musicians, unfortunately Are You My Brother? isn't all too memorable an album when compared to the plethora of artists exploring similar sounds.