Records of the Week

EXPLOSIONS IN THE SKY OFFICIAL SITE

Although I expected the forthcoming Explosions in the Sky album, Take Care, Take Care, Take Care, to be an hour of thundering mediocrity and predictable crescendos, I was instead treated to six tracks of meticulous craftsmanship, lushly cultivated atmospheres, surprising instrumentation, and (I suppose) a few predictable crescendos. For a band that I had thought had passed on to a cold dead place, Explosions’ sixth album (if you don’t count the Friday Night Lights soundtrack) throbs with the rosy-cheeked conviction and impassioned artistry of a blossoming new band.

The change is noticeable almost immediately. Take Care opens with string loops and an eerie vocal sample and progresses with the loose swagger of a spaced-out jam session—totally uncharacteristic for a group that cut its teeth on staunch instrumentalism and tight, clean, highly structured compositions. Later, clarion bell peals, drum tracks, and toy box grooves round out the blitzing guitars and automaton percussion you’d expect on a post-rock album.

-Review excerpt courtesy of Will Wlizlo of Utne Reader, and Reviler.org. Read the rest of the review here.