Performer Notes

Recording information: Minnesota (08/2006).
Back in the mid 1990s, when post-rock dominated the indie landscape, instrumental bands offered a sonic vision beyond what they saw to be the tired rock clich‚s of 4/4 time and G-C-D riffs, but very often negated the simple energy that makes rock so vital in the process. On their second full-length ALL OF A SUDDEN I MISS EVERYONE, Explosions in the Sky do not make such mistakes. The Austin quartet (yes, there are only four of them generating all this sound) take cues from the post-rock era but apply an energetic, improvisational rock approach full of relentless tension and bursts of beauty. The sound of a chamber orchestra afire, ALL OF A SUDDEN I MISS EVERYONE packs a wallop.

Professional Reviews

Rolling Stone (p.82) - 4 stars out of 5 -- "This Texas band plays instrumental music of huge ambition and swagger, built with a few simple ingredients..."

Spin (p.94) - 4 stars out of 5 -- "This Austin, Texas instrumental combo writes lurching, crashing rock exaltations that are a joy to absorb..."

Entertainment Weekly (p.99) - "[T]he band runs through intricately nuanced compositions with the fervor of an inspired jam session." -- Grade: A-

Q (p.118) - 3 stars out of 5 -- "Explosions In The Sky have built a reputation for artfully crafted instrumental epics underpinned by layered crescendos..."

Uncut (p.79) - 3 stars out of 5 -- "Their vast, quasi-classical-cum-post-rock symphonies possess a dramatic, crystalline beauty..."

Alternative Press (p.180) - 4 stars out of 5 -- "[They] wrestle down the lightning-spirit of loneliness, yearning and hop and cram it onto tape-adding generous helpings of delay and reverb for good measure along the way."

Magnet (p.97) - "[A] masterpiece that flows brilliantly, shifting dynamics with the drop of a guitar pick, covering the full range of emotions and somehow coming back to rest in peaceful, meditative resolution."

CMJ (p.40) - "These tracks are intended to be as ambitious as they are heart-wrenching, and in their experimentation they've come close to classical or jazz's freedom..."

Kerrang (Magazine) (p.49) - "[With] symphonic slabs of celestial sound akin to Mogwai -- all foreboding lulls and dramatic crescendos."