In a world saturated with words, music has became another medium for story telling, for years, but often someone else's story. but what if the most profound musical or emotional experience aren't about being told what to feel or remember, but about giving you the space to feel it yourself?
And thats the gift from instrumental music, especially Post-Rock. And it is why lyrics, while powerful, are often overrated.
Lyrics are a Shortcut
Lyrics can be called as shortcut to meaning, they hand you a narrative, a mood, a message. with Lyrics, you're guided, sometimes beautifully, sometimes forcefully but all the time through someones else's emotional landscape, even tho lyrics can bring up your memories about someone, or something in the past, it is still the resonation effect of someone else's experience with what you've experienced.
When a localist sings "I miss you", your mind goes to their heartbreak, or maybe picturing yourself singing those words out loud, thinking about the heartbreak you've gone through in the past, but when a band like Mono builds a slow-burning crescendo that stretches across 10 minutes, you're not told what to feel, you're invited to discover it.
The challenge of Atmosphere
Now think about what does it take to create an atmosphere or space where the listener is left alone with their thoughts, to give an opportunity to feel, to let the emotion unfold without words, to craft textures that evoke without dictating, to resist the urge to explain and yet be engaging. That to me, is harder than writing lyrics.
Post-Rock artists like Silent Whale Becomes Dream, don't just write songs, they build atmospheres. they construct an environment of wander, reflection, and give the listener the chance to write their own emotional scripts. That is not passive listening, that is active feeling.
That being said, might not be everyones cup of tea, when I often get the feedback from people I introduce Post-Rock to, I realize thats for most music is just about feeling gaps, not a way to reflect and allow you to dig those gaps.
Soundtracks, Scores and Silence
Think of your favorite film moment, when the dialogue fades, the score swells, you're not being told what's happening, you're experiencing it, that's the Power of instrumental music. it is immersive, not instructive.
Post-Rock taps into the same cinematic magic, it doesn't need words to be memorable, or meaningful.
Lyrics can Trap you
Lyrics can be emotional, poetic, but they often trap you into a single interpretation, instrumental music on the other hand, are fluid. They shift depending on your mood, your environment, your memories.
Final thoughts
I wrote this piece today, after Andre, a good friend of mine, whom I've recently given some of my favorite Post-Rock songs suggested it. So here you go Andre 🤘🏻.
This writing isn't a dismissal of lyrics, its a celebration of what can happen when music lets go of them, when you listen to Post-Rock, emotions and meaning aren't handed to you. it is something you explore, build, with every moment, and someotimes wonder even if that's what the artist felt while creating the music.
I'd love to hear your thoughts, what do you think of instrumental music and how do you compare them to music with lyrics? go on and write them in the comments section.
