By DJ Tom
New Music Fridays at nOOn
Chicagoʼs Post Animal was a band I’ve wanted to experience live since I first heard “Post Animal Performs the Most Curious Water Activities,” their 2015 EP, a few years ago. {Headphone} music listener I am, I was quite amazed. NEW MUSIC that could take me places that only Pink Floyd, Rush, Cream, Moody Blues and Yes had taken me on “Dark Side of the Moon,” “Animals,” “2112,” “Hemispheres,” “Disraeli Gears,” “Wheels of Fire,” “A Question of Balance,” “Seventh Sojourn,” “Relayer” and “Fragile.”
I felt as though I was listening to the much-missed programming and artistic content of early ’70ʼs FM radio. Post Animal had all the precision twists and turns you get in the {headphones} but LIVE AND LOUD.
The sound mix was extremely clear April 26 at the Pyramid Scheme and brought out their great musicianship. In some parts of their songs, we get the GIANT BOMBASTIC DREAMY sound which I find very comfortably numbing. In other parts, some driving hard-rocking mosh-pit action.
Post Animal consists of six members: Matt Williams on guitar, Dalton Allison on bass, Javi Reyes on guitar, Jake Hirshland guitar/keyboards and drummer Wesley Toledo, all switching off on vocals. The sixth member is guitarist Joe Keery, who’s not on the tour after being cast in “Stranger Things,” in 2016.
Post Animal tore through an intense set with new tracks from their awesome 2018 debut album on Polyvinyl Records, “When I Think Of You In A Castle.” The EPIC “Gelatin Mode,” HIGHLY energized the crowd, the crowdʼs reaction feeding the energy back to the band, who in return, ROCKED the frenetic riffs into a frenetic crowd. The chorus then FLOATING everyone in the air for a rest before culminating into a ROCKING BOMBASTIC finish.
Bombastic again, with the MASTERPIECE “Alabaster” from 2015ʼs Aural-Majestic EP “Post Animal Performs The Most Curious Water Activities.” “Alabaster” had us dancing in a low gravity atmosphere.
From 2016ʼs “The Garden Series” singles collection, we heard “When I Get Home,” which has a very, very dreamy early ’70ʼs pop feel from what my ears remember. “Goggles” on the other hand is a very STRONG MINDSCAPEY rocker which has an ending of guitars and vocals that ECHO music memories of Soundgardenʼs “Loud Love” album, ironically, the last time the DIY/Indie bands broke through. It will be the ultimate to watch that happen in music again 30 years later. After seeing Post Animal LIVE, and knowing their great recordings, it only reinforces my belief in that.
Between sets, I had the pleasure of meeting the guys in Post Animal, who were interested in the history of the Detroit music scene. I was psyched to purchase their great vinyl package for “When I Think Of You In A Castle.” After seeing them LIVE I got even more addicted to their music and I have been playing Post Animalʼs three releases non-stop. If you dig the classic bands I mentioned above, then you donʼt want to miss POST ANIMAL LIVE or on record!
Editor’s note: Short clips from this show can be found on DJ Tom’s Facebook and Instagram pages..
Learn more about Post Animal:
Official website
Chicago Tribune story
“Stranger Things” connection
