Style: Post Metal, Post Rock, Sludge Metal, Doom Metal (Instrumental)
Recommended for fans of: Russian Circles, Cloudkicker, God is An Astronaut, If These Trees Could Talk
Country: United States
Release date: 23 January 2026

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One of the best ways to fight off the winter blues is to imagine oneself sipping iced coffee¹ at the ocean’s edge, watching as pelicans dive down into the water… oh you mean the band? Pelican are what I like to call the ‘vitamin D’ of post-metal—despite the ever so crushing nature of post music, their tunes may leave one feeling uplifted even on the dreariest of days. Coming off the success of Flickering Resonance, Pelican return to continue their album cycle with a follow-up EP, Ascending. 

For those unfamiliar, Pelican hail from Chicago² and live up to their namesake: they make post-metal soar. Hardcore fans may recognize that some of the newly released tracks have been floating on the internet for some time. “Adrift” and “Tending the Embers” were released digitally in 2024, and “Cascading Crescent” was featured on Flickering Resonance. “Ascending”, which started as a B-side track of Flickering Resonance, proved itself to be unique enough to warrant its own release. With these tracks finding a home on Ascending, they are each given new musical context and new life. Fans may also recognize that joining Trevor de Brauw on lead guitar is Laurent Schroeder-Lebec, who returned to the band during the making of Flickering Resonance after departing back in 2009. 

Pelican does what Pelican does best in Ascending: gritty, fuzzed-out³ guitar chords alternate with sparkling melodies to create a soundscape that is sonically heavy but feels light and familiar. “Ascending” breaks the silence with a riff heavier than anything off Flickering Resonance, but ends with feelings of tenderness. Pelican’s unconventional use of chord modulation and progressions allows the band to change the track’s tone on a dime (I’ve never heard a more dissonant bend than the one in “Adrift”). Larry Herweg’s drumming accompanies the blend of guitars quite nicely; steady hi-hat hits add a glimmering timbre to the darkness of the guitars and bass. Speaking of, Bryan Herweg’s bass guitar gets plenty of features throughout Ascending. The staccato guitar riffs in “Adrift” leave generous space for the complementing bass melody to add a bouncy texture to the track. De Brauw and Schroeder-Lebec’s call-and-response solos in “Ascending” lead to a downtuned bass section that is dirty and hypnotic. These moving parts come together with precision, and the stellar production on Ascending allows each melody to shine crystal clear. 

A revisited “Cascading Crescent” returns to Pelican with a vocal twist: Geoff Rickly of Thursday wastes no time making a prominent entrance with his hardcore screams⁴ on top of an already fiery guitar intro. On par with Rickly’s own political stances and the musical messaging of early Pelican, the lyrics carry the torch of anti-government messaging (‘judicial guarantees are recognized … by civilized people’), bathing the track in a renewed punk identity. A section of spoken word precedes a rather lovely clean vocal section, where Rickly proves that “Cascading Crescent” is more complete with his additions. As someone who never had a punk phase (it’s not a phase, Noor) and is rather averse to the genre, I was surprisingly drawn in by the blend of vocal styles and tasteful spoken word. 

Ascending shows the world that Pelican is still sharp in their sonic composition. The thing is, it’s a composition that the band has explored before. The tracks feel whole within the context of Ascending, but seem a little too familiar when looking at Pelican’s entire discography. For a group that’s been around since the turn of the century, they’ve grown naturally but haven’t branched out as far as they could. Ascending begins powerfully, but my attention wanes by the time closing track “Tending the Embers” begins—which is an issue as Ascending is a shorter EP. It’s not that the music is boring; it’s just that by this point, I’d rather revisit older tracks like “Indelible” or “Ephemeral” over “Tending the Embers”, as those tracks tread similar waters in a much more compelling and triumphant manner. 

Nevertheless, the quality of Pelican’s music itself is outstanding. The clarity of the individual instruments makes it easy for the listener to sink into their preferred melodic line. And even as the various melodic lines combine, the resulting soundscape coheres but does not muddle, and this is what separates Pelican from other post-metal bands. After taking some vitamins for your physical health, be sure to take the vitamin D pill of post-metal and brighten up your day with some Ascending. 

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Recommended tracks: Ascending, Cascading Crescent
You may also like: Porcelain, Red Sparowes, Omega Mastiff
Final verdict: 7/10

Related links: Bandcamp | Facebook | Instagram

Label: Run For Cover Records

Pelican is: 
– Trevor de Brauw (guitar)
– Bryan Herweg (bass)
– Larry Herweg (drums)
– Laurent Schroeder-Lebec (guitar)
With guests:
– Geoff Rickly (Vocals)

1. Make sure it’s Pelican branded coffee! ↩︎
2. A city with a large post-metal scene. Hello, Russian Circles and REZN. ↩︎
3. For those who care for rigs, you can thank the Pro Co RAT 2 for this. ↩︎
4. Fun fact, these vocals were originally recorded on Rickly’s laptop in his NYC apartment. I’d say that’s a job well done. ↩︎