Review | Coastlands - Coastlands
It has been a long time coming since the boom of post-rock and adjacent genres from the early to mid-2010s. Of course, this wasn’t the inception of the genre, but its presence was dominant amongst listeners and critics alike. This was when I discovered post-rock, moving away from my metal tendencies and into more instrumental music. I was fresh to the scene when bands like This Will Destroy You released Another Language, or sleepmakeswaves and Love of Cartography. There were equal amounts of discussion and discovery, and I wouldn’t be writing about music today if it weren’t for this time. Coincidentally, as I was learning and listening, Portland-based Coastlands were also beginning their musical foray into ambient and post-rock.
After more than a decade and a well-established catalogue of music, Coastlands are back after a 5-year break with their next full-length record, aptly self-titled. This record is a culmination of past and present for the band, and if they weren’t such a notable name in the post-rock landscape years back, you might not know they were one to begin with now. Coastlands feels stripped away and refined, breaking free of expectations and establishing something new and creatively fulfilling for the band. However, their knack for powerful songwriting within post-rock and post-metal, as well as their beginnings in ambient with the Milieu Archives provided a solid foundation for the group. In my mind, the only acceptable or meaningful outcome for Coastlands is this album.
My Thoughts: This is Coastlands redefined and refined. A full-circle record for the band featuring full vocals; fans of the heavier side of shoegaze and metal-adjacent genres will find a groove in here.
Favorite Tracks: Hollowing, Vessels, Porous, Drugblood
Genres: Post-metal, Metalgaze, Shoegaze
Coastlands is impressively restrained, but don’t expect the aggression to fall flat. This is the first full-length with full vocals for the band, and heavier moments are accentuated by harsh vocals to bring the walls down. If the energy is tamer, clean vocals soothe the air. From this addition to the overall production and composition of their self-titled, the album leans more into heavy shoegaze or “metalgaze” over any past definition or genre of the band. While I usually loathe discussing the genrefication of bands, the overall changes in sound are a respectable identity of the group since they have never put out a similar sounding album twice.
For anyone unaware, Coastlands debuted with To Be Found in 2016, which was a well-received guitar-driven post-rock album. Two years later, The Further Still released, a whirlwind of energetic post-rock meshed with post-metal riffing. Death served as their third full-length, the title as devastating as the music which marked a masterclass in aggression. While Coastlands have always trudged forward, their identity and transformation of sound was always apparent. Their new record follows suit by contrasting these releases, living amongst the duality of their heavier, harsher music with well-composed instrumental moments of reflection to ease the tension.
If anything, the new album feels true to the band as they stand now. Jason Sissoyev, founding member and guitarist, has written and mixed the album, as well as lending vocals. Magnus Lindberg of Cult of Luna mastered the album and also worked on Death with the band previously. The music feels home-grown and uncompromised because of this, and nothing here feels disingenuous to the Coastlands name. If there is one thing shared between all of their releases, it is the ambition behind the full conception of the record. The album was written with every intention to be listened to in full, in my opinion, and perhaps the circle on the artwork subtly reinforces this notion. Once you take it all in; the grit, the passion, the emotive passages, the small and big moments, you’ll understand the decision to make this self-titled.
Coastlands, 2025
For some personal history, I reviewed To Be Found as well as The Further Still from the band in my past writing experience. I wasn’t writing at the time of Death, but I am now, and feel lucky to be covering their self-titled. The band has grown and changed in the way that all humans do, and I have always enjoyed and awaited new music from the group. Tons of artists have taken the necessary time to conceive and create an album that is worthwhile to share with others, and you can feel the time that went into crafting this album. With the way music listening and the industry is heading, I am worried not all bands get the appropriate reception when they do come back after a break, however.
When We Lost the Sea released Departure Songs in 2015, it felt like the last peak of the post-rock genre. I’m not sure an album as impactful as that has been released in that space since, but bands from that time are still making music that is worth your attention. Coastlands have progressed in similar ways that my own listening habits have as well, and surely for countless others: The revival of shoegaze and its expansion into heavier music, a reappreciation for vocals as well as instrumentally driven songs, and the ongoing push for post-rock to trek outside of the boxes it usually checks. If anything above convinced you, give this album a dedicated listen, and consider checking up on some of your forgotten favorites for new music.
Coastlands
Written by Evan Lurie
