Nuër

This French quartet formed, according to a label press release, right after a Shellac gig in 1997 and also cite Fugazi as a big influence. Their instrumental, self-titled debut release is very much in the post-rock vein. Ominous guitar interchanges that are riff-heavy, but not too hummable or catchy, trade off with experimental spacy passages with cavernously echoing droplets of tones. In addition to guitars and drums, they also employ samplers, keyboards, and insertions of spoken voices. ~ Richie Unterberger