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Sky 2

by: Sky

February 26, 2008
It's one of those albums that takes it's time to really soak in like OK Computer, then it's stuck in the CD player for months. So intricate that it's got something new each time you listen.

The Debut album is a cracker in places, but Sky 2 shows their confidence to play to their strengths as a band.

Toccata gets old on repeated plays but 'Watching the Aeroplanes' is an awesome piece in 4 parts.

For the money? Can't lose, just buy it.

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All of a Sudden I Miss Everyone

by: Explosions In The Sky

February 19, 2007
Without words Explosions in The Sky manage to take you on incredibly lyrical and emotive journeys. This loud band from Austin Texas have always done this, have been smothered in critical praise for doing so, but are now doing it better than ever before. With merely guitars, bass, drums and a little piano, the symphonic majesty of their compositions feel like the odyssey of a great culture hero passing through an ordeal that promises rewards as great as salvation itself. Homer would surely have considered it a fine accompaniment to his epic tale. They tell us that it usually takes them months to compose even a single track, and after a few years work, even an album of a mere six songs is ample reward for all their conscientious efforts. This really is a remarkable ... Read More:

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Those Who Tell the Truth

by: Explosions In The Sky

November 10, 2008
I really don't understand the massive acclaim this album receives. I would go as far to say it's...boring!!!

GAH strike me down, (and I'm sure this little review will be...) but I find this album way too monotonous to be interesting. This review may come across as scathing, but don't get me wrong, I think this is decent (hence 3 stars), but I will explain why I don't understand the mass of 5 star reviews.

I am not an expert on post-rock, but I do very much enjoy a selection of bands from it. The best, and probably most obvious choice, being the mighty Godspeed You! Black Emperor, who always manage to create epic, sprawling pieces with monumental climaxes. Bands like Mogwai, Silver Mt. Zion and Fly Pan Am also very much interest me, but this ... Read More:

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Sky

by: Sky

February 26, 2008
The front cover of Sky's debut album from 1979 proudly headlines the cast of top quality musicians that comprise its membership. Musicianship was never going to be an issue for the band that attempted to fuse rock with classical music. Ultimately, the music is sometimes one genre and sometimes the other, but never both. Nor is it ever totally convincing as rock. Despite the electric guitars and drums, classical values preclude the edge or soul of authentic rock music. Yet 'Sky' is a lovely album on its own terms. 'Westway', 'Cannonball' and ex-Curved Air Francis Monkman's five-part opus, 'Where Opposites Meet' represent the modern style, while 'La Danza' and the much-covered 'Gymnopedie No 1' are dragged out of the past. The Monkman-Gomm composition, 'Carrillon', is the ... Read More:

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Anthology

by: Sky

February 26, 2008
Underneath a smug, slightly bland exterior, Sky was a musically very gifted and competent group. They played a sort of acceptable rock, combined with some dreadful cover versions of classical pieces, and wrapped this up in unimaginatively titled albums, complete with some of the worst liner notes you'll read anywhere.

Anthology is a good resume of what they were about - from the awkward, mathematical scurrying compositions of Francis Monkman, to the lighter touch of Steve Gray's material, through to inevitable decline when John Williams called it a day and left.

Sky3 -for me the best album they ever did - is well-covered here, and perhaps suggests this was the peak of what they produced - pleasant sounding tunes that, on occasion, rocked. But there ... Read More:

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The Earth Is Not A Cold Dead Place

by: Explosions In The Sky

November 03, 2003
Allow me a lazy comparison: The Earth Is Not a Cold Dead Place is the 3 Feet High and Rising of post-rock. Both have a decent amount of respect within genres that are irrelevant to most, yet not far enough out there to be completely obtuse, and both are relatively unthreatening; ideal for those who want to dip their toe in the water but aren't brave enough to go diving off the cliffs into the deep, vast sea just yet. You can claim to be open-minded too, by backing up your dismissal of Godspeed/Wu-Tang by stating that you like Explosions/De La Soul. It's all down to personal taste and not lack of appreciation, right?

While other post-rock bands indulge themselves in "pretension" (monologues, political references, enigmatic personas, etc.), Explosions in the Sky ... Read More:

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How Strange, Innocence

by: Explosions In The Sky

November 10, 2008
`How Strange Innocence' is Explosions in the Sky's debut album, recorded on 2000 on a minimal budget. On the band's endearingly honest sleeve notes to this re-release they state that the album has `no tricks' and confess to having had doubts as to whether it should continue to exist.

We can be glad that it does because this is a fresh, youthful and exuberant record, with a real lightness of tone. The production and mixing are basic but this is part of its appeal. All of the instruments are more distinct and the slightly uncertain playing and desire to please has a charm of its own.

The band's trademark sound is present here. Instrumental tracks, carefully crafted guitars both melodic and ferocious and bursts of dramatic percussion.

Stand ... Read More:

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Under One Sky

by: John Mccusker/Under One Sky

January 12, 2009
`How Strange Innocence' is Explosions in the Sky's debut album, recorded on 2000 on a minimal budget. On the band's endearingly honest sleeve notes to this re-release they state that the album has `no tricks' and confess to having had doubts as to whether it should continue to exist.

We can be glad that it does because this is a fresh, youthful and exuberant record, with a real lightness of tone. The production and mixing are basic but this is part of its appeal. All of the instruments are more distinct and the slightly uncertain playing and desire to please has a charm of its own.

The band's trademark sound is present here. Instrumental tracks, carefully crafted guitars both melodic and ferocious and bursts of dramatic percussion.

Stand ... Read More:

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Sky Eats Airplane

by: Sky Eats Airplane

July 22, 2008
`How Strange Innocence' is Explosions in the Sky's debut album, recorded on 2000 on a minimal budget. On the band's endearingly honest sleeve notes to this re-release they state that the album has `no tricks' and confess to having had doubts as to whether it should continue to exist.

We can be glad that it does because this is a fresh, youthful and exuberant record, with a real lightness of tone. The production and mixing are basic but this is part of its appeal. All of the instruments are more distinct and the slightly uncertain playing and desire to please has a charm of its own.

The band's trademark sound is present here. Instrumental tracks, carefully crafted guitars both melodic and ferocious and bursts of dramatic percussion.

Stand ... Read More:

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Slow Burning Lights

by: Blue Sky Black Death

November 11, 2008
`How Strange Innocence' is Explosions in the Sky's debut album, recorded on 2000 on a minimal budget. On the band's endearingly honest sleeve notes to this re-release they state that the album has `no tricks' and confess to having had doubts as to whether it should continue to exist.

We can be glad that it does because this is a fresh, youthful and exuberant record, with a real lightness of tone. The production and mixing are basic but this is part of its appeal. All of the instruments are more distinct and the slightly uncertain playing and desire to please has a charm of its own.

The band's trademark sound is present here. Instrumental tracks, carefully crafted guitars both melodic and ferocious and bursts of dramatic percussion.

Stand ... Read More: