There exists a band that I have only known for about four years but have grown to love just about everything they do: Kauan. They went for a while as something that could be likened to Agalloch by some, but with their last record they went fully into post-rock territory and the grandeur that is “Kaiho” truly allowed me to enter the world of post-rock. I never really visited the realm often, but now I’ve gotten a real taste for it and I can’t go back! Kauan ultimately allowed me to be treated to tasty morsels of the style of which Prime Alone has given me the most recent of such excellence.

The best thing that I’ve come across in the world of post-rock even well before I truly started to get into the style is how atmospheric it all is. I’ve confidence in saying that most of us can appreciate a good, solid atmosphere if it’s implemented correctly, and being instrumental raises the stakes even more, as you can imagine. That’s precisely what Prime Alone brings to the table, and to say that the latest release from this one-man act is a wonder is an understatement. While the atmosphere and being an instrumental act can seem like an easy thing to master, you still gotta manage to keep the listener’s attention otherwise it’s tantamount to white noise at times. That’s what makes “The Great Art of Self-Destruction” so entertaining is how it can keep moving forward whilst still presenting new worlds via new sounds with tremendous effect and the proper amount of power that really helps drive home the tastiness behind this record. Every song brings us to a new realm of existence with a new concept all born from a greater concept: that which internally destroys a person. Hypocrisy, indecision, laziness, infantilism, and more provocative themes rear their heads with “The Great Art of Self-Destruction” with it all coming to a great head somewhere in the mix to really allow this album to mature into something very interesting in the very least.

Prime Alone hasn’t been around as an act for very long, but this act has already proven to be a tantalizing choice for anyone who so chooses to investigate this record. It’s a wondrous and much-needed breath of fresh air for someone like me, and even without that there’s no denying the excellence behind “The Great Art of Self-Destruction”. Instrumentalism is always a tricky thing to accomplish, but pulling it off with post-rock as well shows there is true genius and talent at work behind Prime Alone and I’d be more than keen to see where this act goes.

LISTEN to “The Great Art of Self-Destruction” on Bandcamp here.

LIKE Prime Alone on Facebook here.