It’s in the current landscape of post-rock that I’ve spent a good bit of time, and I know many others have simply because of how mesmerizing the style can easily become if you just put it in the hands of an act that knows what they’re doing even a little bit. Ethereal soundscapes and beautiful rhythms are easy to come by in this style, and that’s not even mentioning how rampant instrumentalism is, and yet, that doesn’t take away a single ounce of the beauty when I hear a new helping of it from a band I’ve never heard of. Experience speaks for itself, and Ships Fly Up demonstrates that excellently.

Dreamscapes that are guided by no sort of voice at all are just pure embodiments of the concept of music taking you somewhere special are what has made the modern view of post-rock into what it is today as we’ve gotten so many visionary acts providing colorful music that likely can’t be found anywhere else in all of music. With three albums now under his belt, it’s with “Ghost Kingdom” that Ships Fly Up shows us what this one-man band is made out of, and it’s nothing short of cosmic pleasure as every single aspect of this gorgeous album takes us to beautiful realms that have never been seen before. Beautifully told with voiceless narration, “Ghost Kingdom” provides excellence workings of instrumental rock the likes of which I haven’t heard for far too long, and it’s clear in these nine tracks of pure cloud surfing that Ships Fly Up has truly immersed himself in this style to grant us an experience that’s as rewarding as it is adventurous. I always feel slightly conflicted with albums like this because on their own they are absolutely stunning to behold and provides so much that we can really sink our teeth into, but then there’s the fact that there are so many other records that sound exactly like this as the style has become quite fleshed out in recent years and anyone who’s even a little into it has heard dozens of records like this before. This is the sort of thing where I want to give it the negative of being unoriginal in sound, but that’s never stopped me before from greatly enjoying something, and it’s after thinking about that which I’ve come to look at Ships Fly Up’s latest piece in a way that’s nothing short of positive.

“Ghost Kingdom” may not be a herald of ultra-original material for the style, but there is no denial from any corner of my mind that Ships Fly Up has provided us with an album that does nothing but justice for this style. Ships Fly Up, surely, has much more planned as he progresses with his music and I’d be more than interested to see where this man takes his sound. Surely, if given the proper amount of time, Ships Fly Up can release something amazing.

LISTEN to “Ghost Kingdom” on Bandcamp here.

LIKE Ships Fly Up on Facebook here.