I first encountered Fury & Solace back in 2023 through their debut For Our Sons, a record that quickly caught my attention with its excellent blend of shoegaze-leaning atmosphere and heavy, contemplative post-rock textures. Coming into By Endurance with that foundation, my expectations were rather high, and to that point, it's rather striking how fully the band has grown and fleshed out the idea and identity of what it means to be a concept-driven, narrative-minded entity. Their new full-length album, released on January 30th, unfolds in real time like a meticulously charted expedition into the wild unknown. Throughout the record, the Cincinnati quartet continues to refine its musical palette, building on the strong backbone already present in For Our Sons, and turning the narrative ebb and flow into something that feels at once seafaring as well as spiritual. In this voyage, the soundscape becomes not only our compass, but also the vessel in which we embark. Where their debut found its strength in the spatial moments of reflective ambience, the sophomore effort extends this range from the more comfortable shoegaze instrumental heights to the cold depths of heavy metal-inspired aggression. Throughout this journey, the themes of resolve, direction, and persistence always stay foremost, creating a sonic arc that anchors the album's entire story.

From the opening coordinates, "68º44'21" S," to the later waypoint, "52º19'47" W," the record frames its articulated purpose, risk, and resolve with cartographic precision and spoken-word fragments. The overall thesis of communal endurance, offered in the spoken-word prologue, sets the telos of the spiritual journey we are all on, in one way or another. It's these thematic touches that set Fury & Solace apart from much of the post-rock genre, and they do well leaning into this strength to full effect here. In By Endurance, we see the idea that Fury & Solace philosophically began working out in For Our Sons, that progress sometimes looks like returning to where we took a wrong turn, and is fully started to be fleshed out in a dramatized way in the navigational interludes. We see the course recalibrations acting as moral corrections, a way for the voyage to return to center and proceed truthfully. When the narrator's voice admits the thin line between success and failure ("52º19'47" W"), it sounds less like a moral bravado and more like repentance, a course correction as the necessary precondition for any meaningful purpose. This is reinforced by the admission that darkness magnifies itself, but the purpose of the crew's voyage will be to "map our way so the path becomes easier for those that follow us." This motif, that returning is often not regress but to redeem the path taken, is reinforced in "By Endurance, We Conquer." As the album closes with the resolute coda, "'Never For Us The Lowered Banner'," the band resists a sugar rush finale, instead deciding to chart a steady glide out into the horizon, ending the journey in dignity and with resolve to press on.

Musically, the band continues to inhabit a space where cinematic post-rock swells meet grit-edged weight. The twin guitar of Bevan Binder and Jeremiah Medley trades between reverb-lit themes and low-gain interstitial lines, allowing Adam Simmons' bass to function as a secondary melody engine, while Andrew Poling's drumming favors gradual martial builds over flash. The most cohesive whole is on display during "By endurance, We Conquer": the clean flourishes expand into overdriven surges, which then dissipate into tom-driven cadences that sound like the oars of the ship catching water. It's this nearly ten-minute centerpiece that allows each member to narratively shine, and offers the clearest example of their growth as a unit as well. As in For Our Sons, strategic narration accentuates the musical aspects by providing textual markers of the journey the band takes us on; this helps the listener reorient their inner compass before pushing out into the next stretch of open water.

Given the glowing review thus far, I would be less than honest if I didn't point out a few areas of attainable growth in the release. For example, there are times at climactic peaks, especially in "Heights Above, Depths Below," that the upper-bass/low mid stack can muddy the snares' definition. That being said, the overall production on this outing is an improvement over their debut. Although the coordinate interludes are narratively strong, one could argue that there is one more than necessary. The second one, though helpful in reinforcing the narrative, risks overstating what the album and its songs already thematically convey. This is a minor gripe and one that probably does not warrant even mentioning, but I noticed on my third listen that the interlude slightly took me out of the experience.

When compared to For Our Sons, By Endurance feels more purpose-built; it shows itself as a post-rock album that not only sounds like a journey, but thinks like one. Musically, we see a more cohesive unit that reflects the band having written the album together. While the interludes could have been trimmed a little, they add enough narrative to the story that the uninitiated into the post-rock metanarrative can follow along. Arguably, By Endurance is at its best when it addresses the paradox of true progress, the retracing of steps, or the resetting of course. The band revisits this theme found on For Our Sons, not to repeat themselves, but to repent of taking the easy route and recommit to the faithful one. It's a patient, communal, horizon-minded work. It serves as a call to those weary in well-doing, that the journey and the storms we suffer through are worth the fight. And perhaps that is its greatest gift: the reminder that none of us are meant to voyage alone. By Endurance offers a hand on the shoulder and a steadying voice in the gale, calling us forward, together, toward shores we might never reach on our own. It leaves us believing that endurance shared is endurance multiplied.

- Review date: 2/6/26, written by Matt Baldwin of Jesusfreakhideout.com

 

 Record Label: None
 Album length: 9 tracks: 55 minutes, 19 seconds
 Street Date: January 30, 2026
 Buy It: Amazon Music
 Buy It: Bandcamp

1. 68º44’21" S (1:25)
2. At The Helm (6:51)
3. It Was Either A Vessel Or A Tomb (6:16)
4. Heights Above, Depths Below (8:36)
5. Through Many Miles (7:25)
6. Our Lungs (5:11)
7. 52º19’47" W (1:53)
8. By Endurance, We Conquer (9:56)
9. "Never For Us The Lowered Banner" (7:43)