7. Pelican – Flickering Resonance

Back to the heavier stuff... Chicago’s kings of instrumental post-metal finally return after a lengthy break (stemming, as has been the case for many artists, from the mess made by Covid). Pelican are a band I’ve liked for 20+ years, and over that time they have been fairly regular – if not guaranteed – placers on this List. Flickering Resonance is their seventh record and their fourth List entry. It’s also their best release since City of Echoes, way back in 2007 (which likewise came in at #7 that year). Flickering Resonance is heavy, but less heavy than much of Pelican’s previous work, especially its immediate predecessor, 2019’s beefy Nighttime Stories. There are still some colossal riffs here (‘Indelible’, for instance, sure gets the blood pumping), but Flickering Resonance takes Pelican much closer to the post-rock/post-metal borderlands than they ever have strayed before. Tracks like ‘Pining for Ever’ and album best ‘Wandering Mind’ veer into much mellower territory, with plucky guitars and dreamlike sections. Overall, while it still retains Pelican’s metal roots, Flickering Resonance is rather more We Lost the Sea than Russian Circles. And this shift suits them. A triumphant return.