PRGRPHS

The newest EP from Minneapolis-based instrumental band PRGRPHS offers drifting melodies and sturdy rhythms in equal measure. Each of these five songs create weightless soundscapes anchored by a robust rhythm section, albeit in different measures and with different results. Album opener “Dispatches from the Shadow Realm” is a tentative step into the shimmer, while “Malicious Compliance” is a head-first dive into the unknown. The next two tracks, “Situationally Silver” and “Resplendent Entropy” are both upbeat instrumentals.

PRGRPHS is a rare post-rock act that keeps mostly to major keys and straightforward rhythms, which allows them to create welcoming soundscapes rather than the stereotypically despondent, drony, and/or longwinded work of their peers. Light Refracts, Flickers Back stands out as a potential entry point to post-rock for many casual fans, while still employing enough skill and nuance to entertain lifelong fans of the genre.

There are some clear influences on display: the Mogwai-esque dirge of “Dispatches” and “Malicious,” the peppy melodicism of “Situationally” and “Resplendent” that conjures emo-jazz legends Pele, with the latter also reminiscent of the more organic early work of All Tiny Creatures. “Prolepsis” begins in the dub-influenced world of Isotope 217 or Dylan Group, but evolves into a shoegaze romp wholly of itself.

PRGRPHS crafts songs comfortably within the post-rock formula of layering elements and building in intensity to cathartic peaks, but they do so without being overbearing. Almost all of the instruments, samples, sounds, and layers seem to identify and react to the gaps created by the other instruments, and these songs navigate within that sparkling emptiness, stretching and curling and spiraling their way through the negative space rather than asserting their own path. These songs aren’t bulldozers, they’re hummingbirds.

PRGRPHS doesn't aim for the highest highs or the lowest lows that sometimes dominate post-rock. Instead, they occupy a steady and pleasant middle ground of dreamy repetition and sturdy rhythms. A rewarding listen in its own right, Light Refracts, Flickers Back is a fine collection of songs that might also open new ears to the persistent potential of the genre.