Explosions in the Sky

I think the first time I ever heard Explosions in the Sky it was on WVUM 90.5FM while driving some place. I managed to remember their name when I got home and I started searching for stuff. That was at least 5 years ago. So I got this record first and to this day I still think its my favorite amongst all of them. I've seen them twice, once in Toronto and once in New York and their live performances were just as good if not better than the private experience. I've been lucky to see them with amazing weather and that really helps for some reason. Everytime I see them live I wish I could teleport some people there to witness the amazingness.

Download it.

They're considered a post-rock band, all their music is instrumental, the songs are long, dramatic, and require patience. If you give them a chance you just might find a special beauty, triumph, and vigilance not quickly realized from the slow churned beginnings of their songs.

If you put a gun to my head and ask me which my favorite song on The Earth Is Not A Cold Dead Place is, I'd tell you it's Memorial. There's something about the way the drums pick up the guitars after the 3rd minute to a new soaring plateu and after the 5th minute the entire set of instruments are surviving evenly. After the 7th minute, they almost destroy it all but it still it seems like they're subtle at that too. Imagine Mogwai's "Like Herod" but a few degrees less conquering.

Memorial sweetly transitions into Your Hand In Mine, which is another great one. All their songs seem like victory-after-the-fall and illustrate that with long epic climbs with each instrument. This record inspires me. Even though sometimes I want them to crank it a little heavier, I can adapt. I think thats why I say they require a bit of patience. After thats said and done the reward is qualified. The image in mind is Mel Gibson as William Wallace after the long and drawn battle has been cleared.

I can't close the post without saying that the first track on the record is what ultimately drew me in: First Breath After Coma.