Instrumentals 2015

Instrumentals 2015 has been categorised by critics as post-rock,^[1][2][3] shoegaze,^[4][5] space rock, and psychedelia.^[4] Entirely devoid of vocals,^[6] the album consists of 15 tracks^[7] composed and performed solely by David Pearce using guitar,^[1][4][5] which he manipulates to emulate a range of sonic textures.^[3][8] The instrument evokes comparisons to church bells,^[1][9] synthesisers,^[9] stringed instruments,^[3][9] and natural phenomena such as steam and waves.^[9] Multi-tracked guitars are employed to generate complex, layered soundscapes.^[1]

The album incorporates elements of electronica, folk, lo-fi,^[4] ambient,^[3][9] and drone music.^[3][4] These include references to "blossoming dronescapes"^[5] and "aerated drone[s]",^[3] and several tracks extend to nearly ten minutes in length.^[5][6] The production retains a lo-fi quality consistent with Flying Saucer Attack's earlier work, recorded at home using CD-R and tape,^[4] resulting in a textured, grainy sound^[2][6] with audible noise.^[10] The album's aesthetic has been described as possessing a "faded"^[6] and "crackly" atmosphere.^[10]

Professional ratings

Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
Metacritic	76/100[11]
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[6]
Clash	8/10[2]
Exclaim!	6/10[12]
The Guardian	[1]
The Line of Best Fit	9/10[5]
NME	7/10[13]
Pitchfork	6.8/10[7]
PopMatters	9/10[10]
Tiny Mix Tapes	[14]
Under the Radar	7/10[15]

According to the review aggregator Metacritic, Instrumentals 2015 received "generally favorable reviews" based on a weighted average score of 76 out of 100 from 19 critic scores.^[11]