Rockpedia

Compare

Two genres, side by side. The ratings are editorial judgements on a ten-point scale, not measurements. Where they come out level, the difference is in the prose underneath them.

First genre

Post-rock1991

Second genre

Space rock1969

Head to headPost-rock vs Space rock
Post-rock: heaviness 4, melody 7, speed 3. Space rock: heaviness 4, melody 6, speed 4.Heaviness4 / 4Melody7 / 6Speed3 / 4
Each corner is a ten-point rating. The further out, the higher.

The difference, by ear

Space rock repeats to induce a trance and stays at one level. Post-rock repeats to build tension it intends to break.

Space rock is sung cleanly where post-rock is mostly instrumental, and keeps to a narrower band: 90 to 130 bpm against 60 to 140. To hear the difference, play Slint next to Hawkwind. They share a root in rock, and space rock came first, by 22 years. United Kingdom appears in the origins of both.

Put together from each genre's vocals, tempo, song length, key acts and place in the tree.

In figures

Heaviness
Post-rock4
Space rock4
level
Speed
Post-rock3
Space rock4
+1
Melody
Post-rock7
Space rock6
−1

Post-rock

1991 · UK / Canada

Where it sits

Rock › Progressive rock › Post-rock

In short

Rock instruments used for texture and crescendo rather than for choruses. The song climbs for ten minutes and detonates once.

How it sounds

  • A long crescendo: the piece starts near silence and ends in a wall of sound.
  • Guitars with delay and reverb used for texture rather than riffs.
  • Almost always instrumental, with pieces running eight to twenty minutes.

Key acts

  • Slint
  • Mogwai
  • Godspeed You! Black Emperor
  • Explosions in the Sky

Start here

The pickMogwai - Young Team. The closing track runs sixteen minutes and earns every one.

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Space rock

1969 · United Kingdom

Where it sits

Rock › Psychedelic rock › Space rock

In short

A repetitive riff under a thick layer of synthesizers and cosmic whoosh. Lemmy went straight from here into Motörhead.

How it sounds

  • A repetitive riff, often on a single chord, held for tens of minutes.
  • Analogue synthesizers, oscillators and white noise as a permanent layer.
  • Hypnotic structure with almost no harmonic development.

Key acts

  • Hawkwind
  • Gong
  • Spacemen 3
  • Monster Magnet

Start here

The pickHawkwind - Silver Machine. That's Lemmy singing, two years before Motörhead.

Full page →