June, 2007

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Explosions in the Sky – All of a Sudden I Miss Everyone (2007)

B000KP7KYY.01. SCMZZZZZZZ V45676005  Explosions in the Sky   All of a Sudden I Miss Everyone (2007)

Explosions in the SkyAll of a Sudden I Miss Everyone

2007, Temporary Residence
Style:

From the sound of the detractors, you’d think Explosions in the Sky is the new AC/DC, with a ton of same-sounding albums. This is, of course, only their 4th studio album (and you can pretty much forget the 1st one, a not-yet-ready-for-prime-time release that the band resisted reissuing until fan demand became too great to ignore). On the surface, this sounds very much like the past 3 albums, but to leave things at that is to make a very shallow comparison. The last album took away some of the edge from the band’s 2nd album, while this album regains some of that edge in a more concise form. Instrumental buildups are more abbreviated here, and some piano-driven melodies add some extra color to the band’s typical twangy guitar sound. This is an excellent album, I’d probably rank it #2 behind 2001′s "Those Who Tell the Truth….". It does seem to be a bit of a transitional album, and hopefully the band will continue to diversify around their great core sound.

Circle (feat. Verde) – Tower

Circle (feat. Verde) – Tower: Circle sure releases a lot of albums. Counting Tyrant (released in 2006 in UK but 2007 in US), they’re already up to 3 this year. Tower is very serene and laid back compared to the group’s typical neo-Krautrock jams. This is very subdued and atmospheric, but with a steady yet soft fusion groove to keep things moving along. I saw it compared to early Weather Report and that’s maybe not too far off the mark. Not a challenging listen but a nicely dreamlike one.