Explosions in the Sky

Bonnaroo

Explosions in the Sky is a post-rock band formed in Austin, Texas in 1999. Like many artists classified as "post-rock," E.I.T.S relies mostly on instrumentals. The band consists of three electric-guitarists and a drummer, who carry the band through many eight-plus minute odysseys. The songs are structured like a film might be, the song begins slowly but build up to a climax that usually occurs with about two minutes left in the song. I'll admit that I am unfamiliar with most bands who consider themselves post-rock, and my discovery of this band did not come in an ordinary fashion.
I happened to be browsing 8tracks.com; if you're unfamiliar with this site, it's an internet radio similar to Pandora except users make personalized playlists. I randomly found myself listening to someone's posted "sleep" playlist, and Explosions in the Sky's "Your Hand in Mine" happened to be the first song that played. I was immediately hooked, and proceeded to download their discography in an attempt to become more familiar with their other work.


Speaking of discographies, I've found that downloading an newly discovered artist's discography is not the way to go. I've done it several times, only to find myself overwhelmed by the amount of songs and unsure where to begin. I think a more effective way to become familiar with a band's work is to download album by album. Maybe start with either their first or most popular album and proceed from there.

Now, back to real purpose of this post. Here is, as I mentioned before, the first song I heard from them. I consider it to be one of their best. Again, this one starts off slow but progresses nicely. I would argue this song contains two climaxes or high points, one coming at around 3:30 of the video and the other at 5:09.



In many songs, the lyrics inspire the feelings you experience while listening to the song. While there are no lyrics sung by Explosions in the Sky, the title of the song often gives you a sense of what you can expect to feel. This next song I'd like to share is called "The Only Moment We Were Alone." This may be my favorite by them, and I often listen to it during drives or reflective moments. Both this and the video for "Your Hand in Mine" are fantastic user made youtube videos to accompany the songs.




"Your Hand in Mine" and "The Only Moment We Were Alone" are both on the album The Earth is Not a Cold Dead Place. Besides releasing six studio albums, E.I.T.S also were the main artist in the "Friday Night Lights" soundtrack. The soundtrack features nine original songs, as well as two new versions of "Your Hand in Mine."Here are a couple songs from it, both are good for sleeping, reflection, or relaxation, although I find them to be a bit sorrowful.

"Inside it All Feels the Same"



"A Slow Dance"



There really isn't much I can say about each song, they really speaks themselves. I will say that they trigger emotions like all bands strive for, but few produce. Their album "All of a Sudden I Miss Everyone" has been described as "frightening, depressing, and lacking beauty" by random posts on the internet I've read. While the songs certainly have a minor and somewhat menacing tone to them, the album title should have tipped you off. The first song off the album is called "The Birth and Death of the Day," and I think it's perfectly named. If there were a time lapse of sunrise until sunset, this would be the song to accompany that. It's filled with loud distorted guitars, heavy drums, and extensive vamping. It's definitely one of their most powerful songs.

I'm not usually a huge fan of songs which sample lines from TV shows or movies, but I have to make this one exception. In their song "Have You Passed Through This Night?" E.I.T.S. samples a quote from arguably my favorite movie of all time, The Thin Red Line. The movie features several monologues from characters presented as their thoughts. The sample used in the song is Pvt. Witt's thoughts as he witnesses he sufferings as his company invades the Japanese encampment in Guadalcanal.

"This great evil. Where does it come from? How'd it steal into the world? What seed, what root did it grow from? Who's doin' this? Who's killin' us? Robbing us of life and light. Mockin' us with the sight of what we might've known. Does our ruin benefit the earth? Does it help the grass to grow, the sun to shine? Is this darkness in you, too? Have you passed to this night?"

Explosions in the Sky is known for their intense and energetic live performances. I hope to someday get the opportunity to attend one of their concerts. Here's a live performance of their song "Postcard from 1952" which appears on their most recent album "Take Care, Take Care, Take Care."They are able to recreate their studio sound as well as adding that extra oomph and energy that comes from a live performance.



I wish I could post everyone of their songs in this entry, but obviously that's not realistic. If you liked what you heard and wanted a few more songs to listen to I'd check out Our Last Days as Children, Magic Hours, Remember Me as a Time of Day, and Trembling Hands.