mxdwn PREMIERE: Heron is Optimistically Reflective on New Post-Rock Song “The Glow”

Pennsylvania four-piece post-rock group Heron is a rising force in the experimental music world. Today, we’re pleased to premiere the latest single from that upcoming album, a concise post-rock track called “The Glow” that checks all the boxes of the genre without becoming cliche. With the release of their latest album Sun Release in July, they show the ability to expand upon the promise shown with their debut LP.

Heron conjure up sprawling, sumptuous soundscapes but they employ a fairly standard set-up with two guitars, bass and drums: Ben Blick (guitar), Boyd Lewis (guitar), Eric Morelli (bass), and Nate Blick (drums). The opening moments of “The Glow” showcase a desolate beauty, a simple clean guitar riff setting up the melodic backbone of the track. Soon additional guitar accompaniment and a throbbing bass enter the mix, taking the listener towards a massive crescendo in the coming minutes as the snare drum comes rolling in.

Of course, most post-rock songs are defined by frisson-inducing highs but the journey is what sets the best in the genre apart from the also-rans. In that regard, on “The Glow” Heron deliver.

The group formed in Warren, Pennsylvania, a small town in the state’s northwest separated from major cities by the massive Allegheny National Forest. The band’s 2017 debut You Are Here Now, which featured a collection of powerful instrumental ballads.

Sun Release was recorded live in Buffalo, NY and then mixed by Matt Bayles (Mastodon, Screaming Females). The result is an album that takes its listener on a journey of grandiose ambition. The eight songs are intended to exist as their own entity while remaining connected to the other seven. “The Glow” is a prime example of Heron’s ambition and ability.

“Every track on Sun Release is part of a journey,” said Lewis and Morelli. “As the halfway point, ‘The Glow’ for us, lends itself to both reflection and optimism. It’s the rush of being further out than you have ever been, and the relief of beginning the journey home.”

Sun Release track list

1. “Light”
2. “The Void”
3. “Moon Data”
4. “Shadow Phase”
5. “The Glow”
6. “Gravity Shift”
7. “Splashdown”
8. “Sun Release”