Explosions In The Sky - The Earth Is Not A Cold Dead Place

  by Olga Sladeckova

published: 27 / 10 / 2003

Label: Bella Union
Format: CD

intro

Inspiring and provocative post rock from Texan band, Explosions in the Sky, who have just signed to the Bella Union label

Explosions In The Sky are another amazing band that Bella Union records has added to its already colourful roster. The four piece, who come from Austin in Texas, claim to have formed on the 4th July, the US Independence Day, in 1999. The Explosions found their name right there and then in the night sky full of fireworks. Their music seems to have found its inspiration there as well. 'Earth Is Not A Cold Dead Place' is the band's second instrumental album and is absolutely delicious. As with any other instrumental album you might need to give the music a bit more time for it to penetrate inside. The gentle and melodic favour of the album, however, proves inspiring from the very first listen. All 5 of the tracks that appear follow one another with a natural musical sense and rhythm. '1st Breath After Come', the opening track, slowly pulls you in from its first moments with its light bass strums. The volume then builds up and other instruments join in. While the guitars draw a soft melody to the song, the drums create a heartbeat sound in the background. You can just feel it rising inside you. The music gives ithe mpression that the instruments sit tightly next to each other. From time from time you can hear them literarily twisting together ,but their individual sounds remain clearly focused and recognisable. One of my favourite parts of the whole album comes on '6 Days At The Bottom Of The Ocean', the 3rd track. The mood of the album becomes darker at the beginning of the song, conjuring up images of a deep dark night lit up with lonely bass guitar tones. A while later the dark music evolves still further, completely surrounding you and then dies to almost complete silence with just tiny bits of music left. Hope, however, comes from the background in the form of a melody which is given increasing more emphasis as the drums strongly highlight it. And then you just get caught in a musical waterfall, if that's the closest word for description, which speeds the music up and swallows you inside. One of the most attractive things about the whole record is that it can easily create its own world but it also moves inside you. Basically you become part of the music with all your own feelings becoming a participative element. 'Memorial' and the closing track 'Your Hand In Mine'build up, blending the instruments and helping to puzzle back the original tune. At the very end the music slips away leaving you alone back in the present. A very warm album, 'Earth Is Not A Cold Dead Place' is one of THE instrumental albums of the year 2003. My only regret is not getting the chance to see the band live yet.

Track Listing:-