The oft-referenced yet “source-elusive” quote “writing about music is like dancing about architecture” is a good sentiment to reiterate anytime we set out to discuss music. How does one write about something like music, particularly instrumental music? Such is the challenge set before us today as we consider the new offering by Bowling Green/Louisville KY band Foxhole.

One of the questions that I’m often asked is “Where do you hear of so many bands?” Honestly, sometimes I can’t remember, but I do remember that I originally encountered Foxhole through a link on another favorite band, Anathallo’s website. In fact, the bands have at times shared members.

Foxhole operates somewhere in the realm that has roughly become known as “post-rock.” More often than not, what this means is that the music is typically instrumental, song-legths are stretched out a bit incorporating elements and structures from the prog-rock corners of the globe and instruments not traditionally associated with “rock” are often brought in, brass, woodwinds, strings, etc. The music, though lacking in lyrics, rarely lacks in emotional depth. Foxhole is as good a place as any to start exploring the genre.

At five-songs and 32 minutes, Push/Pull is a considerably shorter outing than 2004’s beautiful “We The Wintering Tree.” However, the band is clear on their website that Push/Pull is “a standalone CD (it’s a short album, not an EP… so don’t go misquotin’), so I will not misquote. When describing their own music, the band says: “The collapse of civilization. The brief hesitation. The meadows and the monoliths. The underlying whisper of grace.” OK, but what do they sound like?

Obvious and immediate points of reference will be Explosions in the Sky and Do Make Say Think, but Foxhole shows more restraint than either act and lets the tension swirl with the beauty organically. Not as loud as Mogwai and not as quiet as The Six Parts Seven, Foxhole is carving a unique sound in a populated crowd. One of the band’s assets is their incorporation of horns, adding both texture and weight (the tuba on the opening track works quite well) to many of the tracks. The formula is fairly straightforward, begin quietly, gradually add more texture, get louder, and then taper off again and fade out. However, just because the formula is straightforward in no way implies that it doesn’t work; it certainly does.

The subtle but powerful use of horns is another tool in accomplishing something the band does quite well. Whereas a band like Mogwai often comes across angry because of the explosive nature of much of the music, Foxhole succeeds in capturing a melancholy that works quite well with the intrumental genre. The opening track “Wake Up, Get Dressed, We’re Sinking,” for example, utilizes a mournful trumpet line over a repeated guitar pattern before resolving just as quietly as the piece began.

“Torrents” is perhaps the closest link to the prog/post-rock comparison shifting speed and volume repeatedly, all the while incorporating vanishing elements of noise and percussion. Far from being mere cacauphony, however, the track succeeds quite well in propelling the melancholic approach and serves as the album’s “heavy guitar” song. “Portsmouth” also succeeds in incorporating bits of static and white noise as percussive elements without falling into the overstated “glitch” of many more electronic acts.

The song aptly titled “Song for Wesley” is an instrumental tribute to Wesley Willis (1963-2003). Closing the album, the track is the shortest and quietest on the album, but it is also perhaps the most endearing. The subtle white noise again adds texture to a repeated guitar pattern and barely audible mournful wails in the background. The piece serves as an effective and powerful closure to this far-too short album.

Overall, the album is quite beautiful, adding another color to the tapestry that has become post-rock. Instrumental music is not for everyone. It takes more patience and attentiveness, but for those willing to participate in listening, it is no less emtional and Foxhole has crafted an all-too short companion for those contemplative moments that simply need music. For those wanting an accessible entry-point into post-rock or for those already versed in the genre, Foxhole does it as well as anyone and comes highly recommended.

• Buy “Push/Pull”
• Visit the band’s official website
• Visit the band’s necessary myspace