Explosions in the Sky are a post-rock band that has gained quite a lot recently. They have had some magazine attention (over here) and are climbing there way up to be one of the most popular post-rock bands. Post-rock is a bit hard to explain and I’m certainly not an expert on it but it goes like this. Post-rock usually contains long songs, has no vocals and is overall soothing. Some of it concentrates on atmosphere and none of it is heavy. It’s mostly very dream-like.
This album follows a simple formula throughout. It usually starts off slow and quiet but builds its way up. Throughout the songs, it usually adds more parts into the song. For example,
First Breath After Coma starts off really quiet and slow but soon progresses to a more flowing part. On and on it goes while more instruments come into play, until the end where it goes into a giant climax. This formula goes for every nearly every song. The album has only 5 tracks with each averaging at ten minutes. It is actually average album length as well. This wouldn’t be the same with vocals, as with this album you can have your own meanings and emotions put through the songs. As one member of Explosions in the Sky says, “We give songs of hope”. This is true; every song is up beat and gives traces of hope. The melodies in the songs are very beautiful and it’s the perfect way to get some sleep.
The instruments are not technical at all but what they do is concentrate on melody rather than technicality. The guitars are very hard to pick out but are usually quite high, with an almost jingle tone. This adds the melody in the songs. The drums are quite simple but keep the songs going along. The bass just adds depth.
The Only Moment We Were Alone starts off with some fuzz and then goes on to a melody. This one has one guitar playing the same note, while the other guitarist does some more notes. The guitars are meant to blend together and not be looked at from a technicality. The drums keep a driving rhythm and the bass adds to the song’s build-up. The melody that comes in at four minutes is a great part and gives signs of hope (which some of the songs are supposed to do). The climax is no different to the main part other than the drums are louder and provide a constant blast on the cymbal and snare.
Your Hand In Mine starts off straight away with a slick melody. The main part is very fun and has a marching drumbeat (which is provided on the snare most of the time. The song is like the others following the same beginning formula.
Six Days at The Bottom of the Ocean has a ringing guitar note while the other guitar adds to it. The song is again like the others, which brings me to my next point.
The review so far has been quite positive but the following part will concentrate on the negatives. The formula they use gets a bit boring after a while and I don’t think I’d be able to listen to this all the way through in one sitting. The songs don’t vary much and always contain a main hook, which is over a note constantly played on the guitar. Every song sounds the same and not varying that much and some of the parts are just so boring that you want to skip it. But negatives aside, this is a good album. I recommend this for the general post-rock fan and some casual listeners who want a bit of hope in their life. This is not the best ever as they’re other post-rock bands far superior but this is a good band and this is a good album.
