Lost in Kyiv – We’re All Going to Be Fine (Review)

Lost in Kyiv are a French post-rock band and this is their fifth album.

Lost in Kyiv play immersive post-rock, and deliver 41 minutes of quality music on We’re All Going to be Fine. This record is a premier release for post-rock fans, boasting the sort of material that makes repeated spins an absolute pleasure.

Despite its title, We’re All Going to Be Fine operates on the darker, heavier end of the spectrum for post-rock. However, it still has that inherent post-rock feel that separates it from post-metal; it’s post-rock, but with shades of post-metal’s heaviness and atmospheric weight.

The music boasts electronic enhancements and synths that enrich the whole, along with other elements such as acoustic guitars, trumpets, and horns that are deployed at key moments. Like the majority of post-rock, it’s instrumental, at least for the most part; Becoming features a powerful and affecting vocal performance by Rebecca Need-Menear, which is a wonderful addition to the album. In addition to this, spoken word appears in places – remarkably, this is actually a good example of spoken word of the style being used well, which is something that’s vanishingly rare.

Ethereal resplendence wars with apocalyptic grace, as melody and textured depth captivate the listener at every turn. We’re All Going to Be Fine is cinematic and deeply atmospheric, but carries with it an energy that’s a little atypical for this sort of music. This is partially down to the band’s innate sense of groove. There’s a rhythmic density here that’s absent from much post-rock, but here this is a central feature much of the time. The heaviness of the record doesn’t hurt in this regard either. Even with this though, We’re All Going to be Fine is first and foremost an atmospheric record, as you’d expect for a post-rock album. Lost in Kyiv are adept at crafting immersive structures and use worldbuilding techniques that are very effective.

Lost in Kyiv have seriously impressed with this record. We’re All Going to Be Fine is an album to completely lose yourself in, so absorbing are its broad soundscapes.

Essential listening. Fans of bands such as 65daysofstatic, Civil Service, Din of Celestial Birds, Overhead, the Albatross, Russian Circles, and We Lost the Sea rejoice!