An Accumulation of Loss is a raw, unfiltered document that captures a group of musicians reuniting and returning to their craft.
The live album from International Karate, a Melbourne, Australia–based band steeped in the traditions of post-rock, was released Jan. 3. It documents a Nov. 3, 2025, performance at the Shotkickers, a venue in Thornbury, an inner-city suburb of Melbourne.
The performance, now available on Bandcamp, marks the group’s first live appearance in more than two years.
The rough recording, drenched in room sound, offers an unobstructed glimpse of the group: an honest, unedited and powerful example of the instrumental genre.
The album opens with “Obliterator,” a traditional rock song that offers a glimpse into the band’s alternative rock influences. A distinctive blend of guitar textures keeps it from feeling like a track intended to accompany a voice.
Early in the album, “A Monster in Soul” emerges as a highlight. It is a playful, galloping piece that clearly articulates the ensemble’s synchronicity, even though the group was missing one of its members for the evening: the keyboardist and guitarist Dan Brownrigg.
The song’s sweeping guitar chords, gentle melody and waves of dynamic change provide a firm foundation for the strengths of post-rock and its distinctive emotional range. Here, “A Monster in Soul” delivers a triumphant groove that encourages the listener to reflect on personal strength and the overcoming of inner weaknesses.
It is followed by “A Spring Chorus,” a mellow ode to guitar effects that takes the listener on a radiant journey.
“New Trends in Pornography,” a new song for International Karate, increases the tempo and momentum with a barrage of cymbal crashes, whirling guitar lines and a forward-marching beat. Like the opening track, it leans toward alternative rock, recalling a 1970s-inspired garage-rock anthem rendered with post-rock phrasing and flourish.
The piece serves as a reminder that musical progress is as much an investigation of the past as it is an attempt to define the present.
“Numbers in the Dark” shifts firmly into post-rock territory, building a slow-tempo soundscape that allows space for meditation before rising to a loud, heroic climax.
Evoking elements of blues, the performance continues with “All That Is Solid,” a groove-focused piece that features moments of call and response. It extends the thunderous precedent that gives the band’s music a cinematic presence, offering the mind space to wander through its own imagined terrain.
The album closes with “A Minor Role in a Major Movie.” Dedicated to the father of a band member who recently died, the piece serves as a fitting finale, pairing a melancholic melody with theatrical dynamics. It builds toward an intense crescendo, bringing both the song and the performance to a close.
As the final note fades and the audience’s cheers come into focus, it becomes clear that An Accumulation of Loss offers a compelling experience rooted in the traditions of instrumental rock.
For listeners seeking to broaden their understanding of the genre, the record provides a strong entry point into contemporary post-rock.
Its true strength, however, lies in its form: a raw, unfiltered recording that offers an honest and uninhibited glimpse of the band. This album will resonate most with those who long to stand in the crowd, beer in hand, absorbing the collective energy generated by a group of committed and skilled musicians.
