Thistle Sifter - Forever the Optimist

Forever the Optimist is an instrumental record on the light and airier side of the post-rock spectrum, leaning unapologetically into ambient, electronica dreamscapes.

The introductory track Anthropocene is sad and subdued, a woozy electronic haze and a sombre start. The record is said to be inspired by global environmental concerns and Ghost Acres is a colossal ten-minute odyssey, bookended with spoken-word excerpts from environmental journalist and author, George Monbiot, whose soliloquy warns of environmental impacts from industrial farming. Despite the weighty subject matter, the track is breezily nonchalant, accelerating gently into a warming string and synth drenched canter.

The tracks here are often breathy and tender with bucolic strings, keys and plucks and are sometimes (such as Atop a Horrid Hill) reminiscent of quasi-folksy eccentrics the Cinemetic Orchestra or the Miserable Rich. It isn’t until One Fleeting Glance with more ominous pulsing basslines and strident, heavier gravity that the rockier side of post-rock emerges. That is, however, as rocky as it gets with the emphasis on gaseous, gently mournful ambience.

There are genuinely touching bits of songwriting such as the catchy melancholic keys and understated cinematic impact of Endling or the tinkling, plaintive noir of the title track. With fuzzy and lush electronic backdrops, brooding fragility and with delicately woven viola, violins and cello, it’s a layered pastiche.

Records intended as immersive demand the appropriate listener conditions to sustain the experience throughout the entire album lifecycle. Forever the Optimist is lowkey cinematic, with its crests and lulls more subtly contrasted rather than the bombastic classic post-rock approach of troughs, swells and sheer volume. By the final third of the record this can be a sombre ride, but the overall song writing holds out and the title track closer is a profound piece of orchestral ambience.

Here is a bandcamp link:

https://thistlesifter.bandcamp.com/album/forever-the-optimist