Wang Wen – Sweet Home, Go!

Label: Pelagic Records; Release: 30/09/2016

Atmosphere, winding instrumental melodies, brass sections, piano and more is what is on offer from this established 5-piece Chinese post-rock band. As with anything in the post genres, the tunes meander and build in a life-affirming way. After 17 years, Wang Wen have nailed it, strings and all and this album (although much more mellow in places that much of the post-rock I have heard recently) really brings home how much this genre has grown. It is still slightly unsettling to listen to an entire album with no words at all, but I guess that is purely because of my musical background.

Standout track: The whole album is epic, but Children’s Palace goes that little bit further, heavier, than the rest of the album. The journey builds to a much bigger climax and fulfils the genre criteria better than the rest.

Track listing:
1. Netherworld Water
2. Red Wall and Black Wall
3. Heart of Ocean
4. Children’s Palace
5. Lost in the 21st Century
6. Sweet Home, Go
7. Reset