Explosions in the Sky, The Earth Is Not a Cold Dead Place (Temporary Residence Ltd)
No one's so far given an easy-to-use name for the sort of instrumental music played by Mogwai, the Dirty Three, etc. that is in any way useful. But if I mention those groups, you know what I'm talking about: atmospheric and dynamic music that's like the score to an imagined film, like classical music that's been infused with the spirit of punk rock. The Austin, Texas-based quartet Explosions in the Sky play music along those same lines: gorgeous pieces that build and expand and sweep over you. Their songs are tightly constructed with guitars, bass, and drums but feel open, with ample room left between the notes for mystery. Their latest album The Earth Is Not a Cold Dead Place is absolutely spellbinding, the sort of music that slowly and effortlessly pulls you along until your feet lift off the ground and you float gently away. For all the power contained within--for the band does catch these songs ablaze--there's a gentleness to the music that betrays a hopefulness about life and the world which is a far cry from the gloom-and-doom prophecies of musically like-minded ensemble Godspeed You Black Emperor. The guitars delicately build something beautiful together; when they then explode and shred together, it feels like a further building and creating, not a destructive act at all. The album titles tells you that the earth isn't a cold dead place, and the music will make you believe it.
