Airships on the Water – Apart So Far (2026)
Creating music that really hits home, connects, and offers a degree of comfort to listeners, Airships on the Water is “instrumental post-rock made by a math-rock drummer.” Alright, if you have no idea what post-rock or math-rock is, it doesn’t really matter; all you need to know is this artist saunters through a realm of experimental rock music, creating atmospheric, cinematic, eclectic types of 80s-style sounds. The solo project of Russel Hensley, Airships on the Water has been turning heads since 2017, beginning with the album, Beneath A Thousand Branches and hitting 2026 with singles ‘Until The House Dissolves’ and ‘Apart So Far’. Join us as we delve into his most recent release, ‘Apart So Far’.
Self-recorded and produced, ‘Apart So Far’ is the latest taster of Airships on the Water’s upcoming album, A Landmark Is Formed. As with ‘Until The House Dissolves’, ‘Apart So Far’ is a sonic journey without any lyrics to guide you; it’s the raw music that sets a path, but with the free-falling emotion for you to divine your own map. For me, instrumental melodies aren’t always on the playlist, but when an instrumental tune makes its way to my Spotify, it’s always incredibly soothing, calming, and just lifts any heaviness off your chest. This is what Airships on the Water has to offer.
Strolling through fields of post-rock, Airships on the Water comes in with a rhythmic, harmonic sound for ‘Apart So Far’. Spacy guitars soar across the soundscape, while “brushed drums” peep from below. Synths glisten along the melody, but a distorted tone clips everything in an obscure, off-kilter, sort of prickly way. Cinematic and ambient, listening to the track is like sailing on an enigmatic sonic ocean, but the entwined instruments also have a degree of anchoring, stability and sincere focus to them. The best part of the tune, at least to my ears, is the percussion – a glockenspiel plinking and plonking a sweet, innocent, joyful allure without being too showy.
So, what is my overall opinion of ‘Apart So Far’? Ethereal, eclectic and something to slap a smile on your face without overwhelming force, only a light twinkle of synthy sound. I am eager to hear more from Airships on the Water, and recommend you come along for the ride.
Find out more about Airships on the Water on his Bandcamp, YouTube and Spotify.
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