Being able to play seven-to-ten-minute instrumental songs and hold an audience’s attention is no easy task. Perhaps that’s why there aren’t many post-rock bands in Houston. It’s an ominous venture, especially when you run the risk of being compared to Austin’s infamous Explosions in the Sky. Co-Pilot is definitely not Explosions — the band has its own style of haunting, scenic post-rock. The four-member instrumental out of Houston and Austin uses a dark metal palette to paint landscapes with gradual crescendos and hasty decrescendos. It’s both deadweight-heavy and space gas-light. Co-Pilot will be releasing a split with ALASKAN in late February. Judging by “The Bering Sea,” the track on Bandcamp, there are great things to come.
This article appears in Feb 2-8, 2012.