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ALL OF A SUDDEN I MISS EVERYONE

Explosions In The Sky

Post Rock/Math rock


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Explosions In The Sky All of a Sudden I Miss Everyone album cover
3.60 | 109 ratings | 22 reviews | 13% 5 stars

Excellent addition to any
prog rock music collection

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Studio Album, released in 2007

Songs / Tracks Listing

1. The Birth and Death of the Day (7:49)
2. Welcome, Ghosts (5:43)
3. It's Natural to Be Afraid (13:27)
4. What Do You Go Home To? (4:59)
5. Catastrophe and the Cure (7:56)
6. So Long, Lonesome (3:40)

Total Time 43:34

Bonus CD from 2007 SE (CD & LP):
1. Jesu - Mix by Justin Broadwick (9:48)
2. Adam - Mix by Adam Ilham (6:24)
3. The Paer Chase - Mix by John Congleton and Chris Godley (6:53)
4. Mountains - Mix by Mountains (10:23)
5. Four Tet - Mix by Keiran Hebden (8:33)
6. Eluvium Mix by Mathew Cooper (5:40)

Total Time 47:41

Line-up / Musicians

- Mark Smith / guitar
- Munaf Rayani / guitar
- Michael James / bass
- Christopher Hrasky / drums

Note : The actual instrumentation could not be fully confirmed at this moment

Releases information

CD Temporary Residence Limited - TRR 99 (2007, US)
2CD Temporary Residence Limited trr 99 (2007, US)Bonus CD with 6 remixes
CD Bella Union BELLACD135 (2007, UK)
2CD Bella Union - BELLACD135XK (2007, UK) Bonus CD with 6 remixes
CD Human Highway HHR40 (2007, Japan)

2LP Temporary Residence Limited - TRR 99 (2007, US)
2LP+CD Temporary Residence Limited trr 99 (2007, US) Bonus CD with 6 remixes
2LP+CD Bella Union bellav135 (2007, UK) Bonus CD with 6 remixes

Thanks to ProgLucky for the addition
and to Quinino for the last updates
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EXPLOSIONS IN THE SKY All of a Sudden I Miss Everyone ratings distribution


3.60
(109 ratings)
Essential: a masterpiece of progressive rock music(13%)
13%
Excellent addition to any prog rock music collection(46%)
46%
Good, but non-essential (34%)
34%
Collectors/fans only (6%)
6%
Poor. Only for completionists (1%)
1%

EXPLOSIONS IN THE SKY All of a Sudden I Miss Everyone reviews


Showing all collaborators reviews and last reviews preview | Show all reviews/ratings

Collaborators/Experts Reviews

Review by Easy Livin
SPECIAL COLLABORATOR Honorary Collaborator / Retired Admin
3 stars Post rock progression

Explosions in the Sky's fourth studio album see them continuing to produce quality post rock, while introducing a limited degree of diversity into their sound. Unfortunately, neither the album not the band's website offers anything by way of credits, so it is be difficult to pinpoint all the enhancements.

The introduction to the album is in the form of an ethereal guitar fanfare which announces "The birth and death of the day" (the titles are much shorter this time!). The track consists of the usual building guitar driven sound, but with some effective quieter passages. We also have slightly more melodic guitar passages duelling with the more familiar chords. The remix version is notable as it has choral type vocals towards the conclusion.

"Welcome ghosts" is a natural continuation of the opening track, but it is the remix version which is of greater interest. This has xylophone like chimes, together with atmospheric organ and what appears to be humming. This version is surprisingly delicate, devoid of the phonetic drumming which is a predictable feature of the album version.

One notable feature of this album is the presence of just one track over 8 minutes, the 13½ minute "It's natural to be afraid". This sets out with some spacey, indeed ambient sounds which build through quasi-symphonic sounds before the heavy drum beat steers the piece towards more familiar territory. As a whole though, the track is surprisingly understated.

"What do you have to go home to" is another delicate piece, with an unusual (for EITS) piano basis. "Catastrophe and the cure" on the other hand finds the band retreating into more familiar territory, although the pace of the track is much more urgent than we are used to. They almost rock here. Piano returns to add colour to the otherwise standard fare of the final track "So long, lonesome".

In all, an album which sees EITS turning in a collection which is faithful to their previous product, while introducing some developments in their style and sound.

The limited edition version of the album comes with a second disc of remixes of each of the tracks. Some of these are lengthened while others such as "It's natural to be afraid" are significantly edited. The remixes offer interesting alternatives to the original versions, making the limited edition set the one to go for in preference. By the way, the remix disc is the one with the torch, not the candle (there is nothing else to distinguish between them).

Review by Cygnus X-2
SPECIAL COLLABORATOR Honorary Collaborator
4 stars Explosions in the sky have rightfully earned their place as one of the premiere bands of the post-rock scene. Albums like How Strange, Innocence, and The Earth is Not a Dead Cold Place, have nearly become cornerstones in the genre's foundations (well, definitely the latter, but the previous album is debatable). Their most recent endeavor, All of a Sudden I Miss Everyone, continues their signature sound of gentle, lush guitars to create a soothing, almost trance-like atmosphere, and at the same time incorporating piano to create more earthly elements.

The album's opener, the brooding "The Birth and Death of the Day", starts the album with a bang and sets a tone for almost the entire album. From the get go, the guitars create a moody but sultry atmosphere, with minute percussion in the background to create a gentle, vibrant soundscape before a climax hits and a maelstrom of wailing guitars skews the frail atmosphere in a haunting fashion.

Later songs like the 13 minute "It's Natural to Be Afraid" combine powerful piano chords with a swirl of melodic and varied guitars that create a tense and gripping atmosphere. Like many compositions by Explosions in the Sky, the song shifts almost seamlessly between noisy and quiet sections, creating the feeling of passing through a storm and witnessing its calm.

The album isn't without its faults. For starters, the album is very short for modern standards, barely reaching forty five minutes throughout the six songs on the album. Secondly, some might not be receptive to the repetitive and nearly droning musical style the group has embraced, as there's little to no variety between the songs. However, despite these faults, the creative songwriting and the inspiring musical ideas more than outweigh what one could consider an error on the part of the band.

All of a Sudden I Miss Everyone takes everything Explosions in the Sky has stylistically achieved thus far and expands upon them with nuances and twists that make this record something different from the rest. It's surely something that fans of post-rock won't want to miss.

Review by Prog Leviathan
PROG REVIEWER
3 stars A darker, moody follow-up to their widely appreciated prior album, Explosions shows signs of increased creativity and subtlety in this beautiful-- if somewhat formulaic-- release.

The band sticks with what they know: slow builds, soaring melodies, delicate textures, and eighth notes (lots of them). "All of the Sudden" is undeniably elegant, and at times demonstrates the bands excellent sense of timbre and composition... but I find the very repetitive guitar to limit the palette of sounds at the bands disposal, making "All of the Sudden" an outstanding instrumental album only when the mood strikes me; however, when it does I admit that this music has the ability to lighten spirits and send tingles up spines.

Recommended for those interested in the band or seeking some classy instrumental music.

Songwriting: 3 Instrumental Performances: 3 Lyrics/Vocals: NA Style/Emotion/Replay: 3

Review by 1800iareyay
PROG REVIEWER
4 stars My first ever foray into post rock. I admit, I first steered clear of the sub-genre of post rock, because of silly and completely inaccurate notions of the sound. I'm used to post rock being a label applied to noise rock bands such as Sonic Youth. Instead, post rock is devoted to creating beautiful soundscapes with music, eschewing standard song patterns in an attempt to make an instrumental journey.

All of A Sudden I Miss Everyone is an emotional album filled with long crescendos and lovely melodies that give way to moments of dissonant tension that recalls the attitude of 70s Crimson. The sound, however, is totally different. The guitars ar so richly layered you'd think Devin Townsend had stopped by to produce. The album brims with an epic feel, whether in it's loudest and most chaotic moments or it's most subtle and understated. It's not often that I find instrumental rock thought-provoking, but this challenges my relatively open assumptions of the limits of rock composition. This is every bit as moving as classical oeuvres, it just achieves that emotion with an entirely different approach. Classical buffs might scoff at the notion of this, but this Austin quartet is one of the few rocks groups that can successfully harness the human psyche without words. Only classical works ever seem to do this, so I was floored to think I had denied myself access to this sub-genre, which is filled with this music.

All of a Sudden is not perfect by any means, but it has moments of incredible beauty and the way that guitars, keys, and drums mix is some of the most original music I've heard in a long time. I usually do track by track reviews, but that seems pointless for an album like this. The songs, though different and spaced from one another, combine to make one fluid movement. each track has it's own compositional highlights, but it all sounds even better when appreciated as a whole. Considering this is where I started, I'd say this is an excellent place for newbies of not only EITS, but post rock in general. I highly recommend it to fans of ambient music (the aforementioned Devin Townsend comes to mind), and to fans of classical music who'd like to see a new app[roach to capturing emotion.

Grade: B+

Review by Neu!mann
PROG REVIEWER
3 stars Something about the name of this enigmatic band from (of all unlikely places) Austin, Texas, calls to mind the visionary mysticism of a William Blake canvas. And there's a lot of the same spiritual radiance and romanticism in their music as well, with all the grandiose instrumental epiphanies normally filed (for lack of a better pigeonhole) under the meaningless label of Post Rock.

However you want to define it, they certainly conjure up a big sound, as might be expected from a quartet of three guitarists and a very loud drummer (the occasional piano heard on this 2007 album is apparently new, and no less atmospheric than all the ringing, chiming, reverberating guitars).

This is (so far) the only Explosions album I've ever heard, so I can't say how typical it is of the band's work to date. It needs to be said that their singular style, blending moments of dreamlike delicacy with huge, explosive crescendos, doesn't seem to vary much from track to track, leading me to wonder how long they can continue plowing this fertile rut they've dug for themselves. (Hence, by the way, my conservative rating for an album I'm fast learning to love, which can also be read as a reflection of its slim 43-minute running time: a nod perhaps to quality over mere quantity, but nonetheless stingy by CD standards.)

In the meantime the band has certainly accomplished something unique and laudable in the all-too predictable market of current American music, forging a distinct, recognizable identity, and one based entirely on the (considerable) merits of their music. Notice how this beautifully packaged CD (the evocative woodcuts were again designed by Esteban Rey) doesn't offer any information about the line-up or instrumentation. Heck, even their official webpage is reticent about the band's history and biographical details.

Fair enough: it forces the listener to concentrate on the music itself, which ought to be enough to grab anyone's attention. Listen to the epic introductory fanfare of "The Birth and Death of the Day" (suggesting that dawn is the most traumatic moment of each new day), or the artfully arranged and orchestrated tension and release of "It's Natural to be Afraid", at 13+ minutes long the most impressive track on the album.

The band claims it was their most difficult album to write and produce, even after removing themselves to an isolated recording studio in the woods of southern Minnesota. But I would have to say the rewards of the finished product easily match the efforts needed to make it. This is a band well worth further exploration, and an album that once heard can be hard to forget.

Review by Chris S
SPECIAL COLLABORATOR Honorary Collaborator
4 stars " Birth & Death Of The Day" starts this 2007 release off with distortion, maelstroms of stormy soundscapes before settling into some pleasant accoustically lead almost uplifting melodies. It really is an absolute gem of a song and is full of atmospheres." Welcome, Ghosts" is a true return to form from Explosions In The Sky and very pleasing on the ear. There is that continued air of drones about this album but is more positive and optimistic than their previous albums. Uplifting is a good adjective. " It's Natural To be Afraid" is another 13 minute drone of swirling sounds, judging by the title of the album and the name of this song, one would assume they are playing about confronting one's own lifetime's demise." Catastrophe and the Cure" really gets the guitars grinding with some excellent drum work. GSYBE similarities again. " So Long Lonesome" leaves you with a sense of relief. Let's face it the album makes for intense listening and is quite draining. But Post Rock/Math Rock can do that. This is their most uplifting album and for that I am going to plug four stars.
Review by TCat
SPECIAL COLLABORATOR Honorary Collaborator / Retired Admin
4 stars There is a reason why Explosions in the Sky is one of the most talked about and popular post rock bands out there. They know how to use the post rock formula of taking a basic theme and developing on it by adding and taking away layers and using dynamics very effectively. There is a lot more to their music than starting out soft and building to a climax, they use variants of this theme to develop a musical idea or portrait. Their music is strong and emotional, and not one lyric has to be sung to make it that way. The biggest problem I have with them, is that there isn't enough variation in their sound like there is with Mogwai or Godspeed You! Black Emperor. There just isn't enough experimentation and novelty. But many of their fans are okay with this and they like the predictability. For me, variation is always important for me to retain interest in a band or an album.

That being said, this album is an excellent album. It's just hard for me to be totally enthusiastic about it because there just isn't enough variety. Song development is excellent here, dynamics are ever present, and things are not always completely predictable, but in some ways, the tone of the music is predictable. At least they do vary in the overall post rock formula.

The album starts out with "The Birth and Death of a Day" which is an excellent and powerful opener. The music fits the title completely and was inspired by the mountains that surrounded the narrator in Steinbeck's novel "East of Eden", how the mountain range in the east heralded the beginning of the day and the range in the west represented evil because they ate the sun. Talk about an effective soundtrack to that idea, the power of the music representing the majestic mountain ranges, and how the quietness at the end represents the twilight. Amazing song.

Next is "Welcome Ghosts" that is a nice typical post rock song, but doesn't leave as much of an impression on me. The third track is much better. "It's Natural to be Afraid" is an epic track at over 13 minutes, and it stays surprisingly interesting throughout the track. The reason for this is because, even though the overall feeling is the same as the rest of the album, the development of the themes and the uses of dynamics is a lot more varied. The music is a lot more interesting simply because it moves around a lot more in feeling, and emotions are also very high on this track.

Next up is "What Do You Go Home To?" This has some very pretty shimmering piano played against some pensive guitar chords and arpeggios, but it's rather short (at almost 5 minutes) and could have been developed a little more. The melody is not as apparent in this one, but that's okay because it does have a lot of atmosphere. I would have liked this one to have been longer with more development. "Catastrophe and the Cure" is a longer track, but is too typical sounding as far as post rock goes. The percussion is too clunky sounding to me. The theme is a little repetitive and the layering is very thick in the louder sections. "So Long, Lonesome" is short at under 4 minutes, and, while it is a quiet track, it lacks in development, which hurts it's effectiveness in the overall picture. It does bring a little hope to the dark tones, but not enough to bring the entire package above the same-ness of tone. When percussion joins for a short time at the end of the track, it seems nice, but that clunkiness is there again.

Overall, this one holds my interest better than some of the other similar sounding post rock albums, but I still lose interest before it's all over. The mood changes a little throughout, but not enough to consider this a masterpiece. I believe that it is worth checking out if you want to explore post rock bands, because there is enough interesting material here to consider it worthy of being an excellent recording, just not enough to make it essential.

Latest members reviews

3 stars Another EITS album, another mish mash of beauty and samey sames, the only real new plus side on this album i think is the over all 'epic' scope of this one, which i think bumps it up a notch to me. The intro song THE BIRTH AND DEATH OF THE DAY has some really cool alternate picking towards the end ... (read more)

Report this review (#287582) | Posted by FarBeyondProg | Sunday, June 20, 2010 | Review Permanlink

3 stars So, this is my second experience with Explosions In The Sky, I tried this out after "The Earth Is Not A Cold Dead Place" and I cannot put into words how disappointed I am, sure this is far from being a bad record (I'm giving it three stars!), but "Earth" was such a wondrous record, of such beauty ... (read more)

Report this review (#228344) | Posted by JTP88 | Saturday, July 25, 2009 | Review Permanlink

3 stars "They're all gone..all of them.." The fourth studio album from 'Explosions in the Sky' is a very mixed album. 'All of a sudden I miss everyone' doesn't seem to hold that same continuity that the previous album did. There seems to be more thought on the individual songs and less concentration ... (read more)

Report this review (#183349) | Posted by mothershabooboo | Tuesday, September 23, 2008 | Review Permanlink

4 stars EITS does not disappoint with their most recent LP. They seem to have found a formula that works and they are following it. If you are looking for daring ground-breaking experimental post-rock, then this is not an album for you. But, if you are looking for sometimes beautiful, sometimes angry, ... (read more)

Report this review (#173918) | Posted by digdug | Saturday, June 14, 2008 | Review Permanlink

3 stars I've always thought that the members of Explosions in the Sky were more artists than they are musicians (which is not necessarily a bad thing), and I think this is most apparent on this album. Unfortunately, where the band was able to successfully create artistic scenes through beautifully craf ... (read more)

Report this review (#172209) | Posted by The Progmatist | Monday, May 26, 2008 | Review Permanlink

5 stars This album is a real masterpiece of Post -Rock! If EITS did an impressive work with TEINADCP now they have surpased themselve! this is a real masterpice, it has all EITS elements and much more, and it also is a great progression in evrey way to anyone of their previous album. Even if it's ... (read more)

Report this review (#166407) | Posted by Roundabot | Friday, April 11, 2008 | Review Permanlink

1 stars This album contains the only semi-decent Explosions In The Sky song, that being It's Natural To Be Afraid. Though it too suffers from the same formula the rest do. Steal a little Stravinsky, a little Godspeed... and some Mogwai and mix it all together and you have this band that showed up WAY l ... (read more)

Report this review (#161196) | Posted by shentile | Thursday, February 7, 2008 | Review Permanlink

4 stars This is Beautiful music created by this quartet from Texas. Explosions In the Sky's music can be so heavy and yet is can be such gentle music. They are a bit like Mogwai but are more on the heavy side. The opening track just gets your attention right away, it pulls you in. The title tracks for the ... (read more)

Report this review (#151255) | Posted by JROCHA | Friday, November 16, 2007 | Review Permanlink

2 stars There's experimental music, and then there's post-rock. Post-rock can sometimes be very pop sensitive - something that may even warrant radio-play. Explosions in the Sky is one of the most pop-sensitive post-rock bands. They're the kind of band your sister will buy you, and then listen to all the ... (read more)

Report this review (#132182) | Posted by Shakespeare | Tuesday, August 7, 2007 | Review Permanlink

4 stars With an album name evoking as much melancholy as All Of A Sudden I Miss Everyone, the hope-filled, majestic, and uplifting mood of this album will shock most on their first listen. The atmosphere, as well as the music, really makes this a pleasant listen. By now most have realized that EitS have ... (read more)

Report this review (#131542) | Posted by Equality 7-2521 | Friday, August 3, 2007 | Review Permanlink

5 stars Well I'm going to explain why this album deserves to be considered as a masterpiece, five arguments for five stars, (one spot each star), so let's begin shall we? -Explosions In The Sky sounds more professional than ever in "All of a Sudden..." their music evolved marvelously and became incre ... (read more)

Report this review (#117819) | Posted by Balatonizer6 | Tuesday, April 10, 2007 | Review Permanlink

5 stars I never write a review of an album that's not a total masterpiece, why wasting your time on an average album when you have something to say about a total genius record like this one? Can I say mind-blowing? this album is no less than a blasting experience of all kind of musical structures ... (read more)

Report this review (#113965) | Posted by Herzebeth | Thursday, March 1, 2007 | Review Permanlink

3 stars EITS' fourth album is a mixed bag. It lacks the consistancy of TEINACDP and the abraisiveness of TWTTTSDTWTTTSLF. However, this album includes rare flashes visceral genius and rare streaks of melodic sensability more prevalent on prior releases. I saw this group last night at the Warsaw i ... (read more)

Report this review (#112940) | Posted by Asyte2c00 | Tuesday, February 20, 2007 | Review Permanlink

4 stars While undeniably an excellent album, this is not the best album in Explosions in the Sky's discography. Unlike their previous albums, this one incorporates keyboard into the mix of guitars, bass, and drums. In my opinion, this incorporation does little to detract from the music, and the band does ... (read more)

Report this review (#109083) | Posted by CaptainWafflos | Friday, January 26, 2007 | Review Permanlink

5 stars Well, this is it folks. I thought that "The Earth Is Not A Cold Dead Place" was to be this band's absolute magnum opus, but I was wrong. This album sums up everything this band is about. Powerful, extremely well-crafted, balanced and beautiful music. The opening track is their best output ever ... (read more)

Report this review (#108128) | Posted by | Saturday, January 20, 2007 | Review Permanlink

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