Slow Simmer of Bliss: Post NC Release “Egress (Second Hall)”

As the Las Vegas music scene booms with new post-quarantine acts, there is one name that gets brought up repeatedly amongst several circles: Post NC. This trio consists of Leo Bagel on keys, Samuel Ramirez on guitar, and Marcus Flippen on drums. These three have made their claim in the local scene with an aptitude for genre-fluid instrumental jams, which has allowed them to fit on almost any available billing and undeniably played a role in their rising popularity. After roughly two years of performing together, these boys are finally hopping into the booth for their new single, “Egress (Second Hall).” Post NC fans can agree this group thrives as a live act, but we can now see how this translates to the studio space.

Egress greets the listener with airy, cascading acoustic guitar as poet, Robert Minter, dreamily foretells the journey ahead for this 7-minute single. Minter details, “Soft serenades of off-white sounds,… [a] descent sending me off, and off, and off … enjoying the slow simmer of bliss.” The arc described here begins to take shape, as the band settles into a swaying groove. The band builds off from this with Samuel and Leo taking their respective solos, acting as guiding hands toward the approaching summit, fuzzed-out guitar passages baton pass to increasingly manic, tension-building keys. When the weight is almost too much to bear, the band frees the listener with three heavy, breathtaking syncopated hits. We have reached the peak, and all that is left is what’s below. Here we begin Minter’s aforementioned descent, as the band commands you through one last riff-heavy headbanging interlude. Before the falling can feel like flailing, the clouds clear with Egress’s final phase. Living up to Minter’s “slow simmer of bliss,” we are introduced to the last searing guitar lick that is looped through our departure.

As Egress ends, it accomplishes what the namesake promises; you are left in a different place than where you started. Whilst getting your bearings, you are left with one last warning of retrogradation: The Desert Oasis HS Choir’s haunting chants of “Don’t Fall Back In.” These four words resonate with this song’s mission and what I believe to be the core of Post NC themselves: the simple goal of always moving forward and never getting complacent. Let’s hope the wait isn’t too long for their next release, as the band continues to do anything but regress.