THE EARTH IS NOT A COLD DEAD PLACE

Explosions In The Sky's third album, in my opinion, is one of the most complete albums released in recent times. The whole post rock world contains enough frustration to leave lengthy albums hanging in the middle of nowhere. And with the majority of these modern day progressive acts there has been the tendency to sound alike, in song construction if not exactly content and concept. The strength of Godspeed You Black Emperor! and their towering music was a watershed for this listener and came at a time of a personal musical vacuum, but they could irritate quite easily with the constant reminders of [mainly American] political policy and the global atmosphere resulting from it. And while Godspeed You Black Emperor! layered dark complex lines to forcefully remind us how fucked up the world is because of political powers (and Mogwai simply want to bore) Explosions In The Sky create music to remind us how fragile this bloody place truly is. The music on the album is packed with a sympathetic emotion that is at once crushed by an overwhelming sense of anger as the band launch from gentle passages to an all out forced assault, simply to reinforce the tone and to clarify the message. But overall the album is an eye opener, gob smacking, and reveals truly beautiful music with more passion and conviction in all areas whereas the majority on the acts from the same genre leave a cold almost cerebral feeling. As far as I'm concerned this could well be the album of the decade, not that it actually matters too much if it is or is not. Their is a sense of completion all over the concept of The Earth Is Not A Cold Dead Place and this four piece Texan band execute it with a convicting revealing passion.