Ukranian post-rockers Krobak are boasting a reinvigorated and expanded line-up for this new album, and Nightbound is a work of greater sonic depth as a result. Though the rhythm section are not to be underestimated, the strongest moments tend to be those where guitarist Igor and violinist Marko are trading melodic licks.
While here’s a hint of cult post-rockers Yndi Halda about proceedings, and a continual undercurrent of folk in their sound lending a 70s proggy edge, fundamentally Krobak sound like nobody so much as themselves. The album opener Stringer Bell at its best conjures some of the gauzy, sun-soaked genius that characterised US psych-rockers Sleepy Sun’s electric second LP, Fever. If desert rock and psych should seem strange sonic touchstones for a proggy post-rock album, then that’s just an indication of the gentle eclecticism of this release. No Pressure, Choice Is Yours meanwhile recalls to a small extent some of the more downtempo and abstract numbers from the first Steven Wilson solo album, Insurgentes, especially when more chromatic guitar riffs become the focus during the later passages in the song. So Quietly Falls the Night is undoubtedly the album highlight, with the band’s folk elements and psych guitars coalescing into something powerful and evocative. If you like your post-rock with a side of classic prog, then this might be the gateway album for you.
