Album Review: Explosions In The Sky - Take Care, Take Care, Take Care
Instrumental rock band Explosions in the Sky from Austin, Texas, deliver their first full-length release since 2007 with 'Take Care, Take Care, Take Care'. Full of the expected musical acrobatics the band is expert at employing, this album also twists those expectations with new elements.Explosions in the Sky has perfected the build-up. They employ this technique so expertly that you can actually feel the anticipation and electricity in the music that leads up to the moment when a song will break into its full sound. This is demonstrated in 'Human Qualities,' but most perfectly in “Postcard from 1952,” a track that builds sound in layers and rises and falls in volume and intensity.
Surprisingly, there are some vocal elements in this album, however slight. 'Trembling Hands' begins with some “oh’s” and these fade in and out throughout the song, creating an up-beat and hopeful track. Again experimenting with different song beginnings, 'Let Me Back In' has creepy sounding wordless voices making unintelligible noises, as if trying to communicate but they cannot speak. It makes the song have an incredibly strange tone that hovers on the edge of sadness, and this is only amplified by the instrumental techniques they band uses in this track. As strange as it is, it’s one of the most unique ones on the album.
While 'Take Care, Take Care, Take Care' only has six songs, Explosions in the Sky manages to pack a lot of sound into those tracks. Even though the songs get a bit long (an average of eight minutes,) the band’s ability to tell a story through music without any words is unmatched, and it is easy to create a story while listening to the album. The band experiments with new elements on this album but they deliver the inventiveness and consistency they are known for.
3.5/5
'Take Care, Take Care, Take Care' by Explosions In The Sky is out now through Temporary Residence Limited.
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Jenny Bauer
