GTAForums Music in Review

[-shaDow]

 

Artist: Explosions in the Sky

Album: The Rescue (Travels in Constants Vol. 21)

Label: Temporary Residence Limited

Release Date: October 11, 2005

Genre: Post-Rock/Experimental

 

 

 

I'll just say this first off: if I had to name my favorite band, out of the many that I listen to, I could safely choose Explosions in the Sky. For those of you not familiar with the genre of post-rock, it's basically instrumental with a heavy emphasis on making the most out of what instruments they have. Some bands incorporate vocals, but this is usually a rare occurrence in the genre, and Explosions in the Sky tend to stay away from it. This band is also heavily characterized by emphasis on melody and emotional content within their music, and needless to say, it can f*cking destroy. Brooding, ominous melodies building into crashing climaxes (lol sex) are not a rare occurance.

 

 

When I first heard that the album was leaked, I shouted "yee-haw" or something else so flamboyantly gay that you would've been forced to leave the room if you were sitting next to me. Prior to this release (which isn't even a proper full length; it's part of a CD series only available by mail order containing exclusive songs), I had high expectations that this disc would kill based on the unparalleled awesomeness of their past albums. The tracks are titled "Day One" through "Day Eight", supposedly representing the day each track was arranged and recorded. Different from their preceding albums, the band experiments with different instruments, voices, and moods, making this album more experimental than anything they've done in the past (different from the build-climax-mellow out pattern typical of post-rock).

 

 

Individual Tracks:

 

"Day One" starts off very inviting, and right off the bat sounds like a song that would easily fit in on either one of the last two full lengths. The only difference is that the guitars never reach their predictable eruption of sound.

 

On "Day Two", the track's main instrument of focus is the piano, and a soft chorus is prominent throughout the track. This is the first time vocals have been featured an Explosions in the Sky track, but they're used primarily as texture rather than the song's focus. This also shows more of the experimental nature of this album I was talking about earlier.

 

"Day Three" includes a conversation of some dude talking to himself amongst the music, I don't really pay attention to what he's actually saying, and neither should you. If I had to pick the biggest fall of this album it would be this track.

 

"Day Four" is short and to the point. Structurally and rhythmically, it's the closest an instrumental band has ever come to writing a three minute song that's worth a damn.

 

"Day Five" marks the most upbeat and cheerful thing the band has ever recorded. Effective piano tunes and chiming bells work surprisingly well with echoing guitar melodies.

 

"Day Six" is the best track on the album. No explanation needed, if you're going to sample a track from the album to get a general feel of what this band's about, let it be this one. On second thought, f*ck it, here's a better song from a different album (The Earth Is Not a Cold Dead Place).

>>RIGHT HERE IS WHERE YOU CLICK<<

 

"Day Seven" also features more intangible vocals with jingling bells to accompany them.

 

"Day Eight" is the obligatory short album closer. Nothing really special here, they're basically ready to pack up their sh*t and go home.

 

F*cking summary:

 

I will never grow tired of these guys. Trust me, they dominate my last.fm charts for a reason. My personal recommendation would be to pick up their second full-length album, The Earth Is Not a Cold Dead Place, for a better starting point on this band rather than the album I just wrote a whole f*cking review on. The album is only 5 tracks, but the tracks are lengthy enough to keep you hooked to this band like some sort of musical crack that you smoke through your ears. So in summation, The Rescue is still great music, though not on the same level as some of their previous efforts. I give it four out of five records (The Earth Is Not a Cold Dead Place would have gotten 6).

 

 

What other people had to say about the album:

 

 

Really good and cool music.

Thanks for the insight.

 

[DeusExMachina]

/applause.

 

I've been meaning to do that mail order thing.

[Kutthroat]

I so didn't say that, you bitch.

 

I quote myself upon first hearing it:

 

"Holy f*ck this is wintery and I love it."

Good review though.

 

[Mullen]

Nice review, I'll check this out. I already have 'The Earth Is Not A Cold Dead Place' and 'How Strange Innosence' and, even if I didn't pay too much attention at the time I was listening to those two albums, I think I like them.

[Kutthroat]

Nice review, I'll check this out. I already have 'The Earth Is Not A Cold Dead Place' and 'How Strange Innosence' and, even if I didn't pay too much attention at the time I was listening to those two albums, I think I like them.

Yeah, I remember when I first listened I didn't pay much attention but then you realize how amazing the stuff is.

[lesfleanut]

Good sleep music, bested only by floyd.