The Explosions in the Sky have gone from local darlings to worldwide phenomenon while still retaining their working-class ethic. They still load their own gear on and off stage – even if that stage is the one at Radio City Music in New York City where they headlined a sold-out performance on April 6. Their first new studio album in four years – Take Care, Take Care, Take Care – will be released in the U.S. on April 26 and will be getting the deluxe vinyl treatment: double LP quadruple gatefold, 36″ x 36″ foldout poster and postcard, MP3 download, and colored vinyl while supplies last. Click through for a tracklisting, tour dates, and review.
In case you haven’t been keeping up with EITS, here’s a quick rundown of their impressive résumé: Recorded an episode for Austin City Limits, curated the ATP Festival, played a sold-out show in Central Park, and toured with the Flaming Lips to name but a few of their accomplishments as a band.
For Take Care, Take Care, Take Care they returned to the studio with engineer John Congleton and retained the services of longtime graphic artist Esteban Rey who supplied the gorgeous album art. As they say: if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. Patient fans have been rewarded for their four-year wait. With a catalog as strong as theirs it’s high praise to say this may be the most challenging and satisfying EITS release to date, but that’s the case.
How do you describe the music of Explosions in the sky? Lush. Epic. Intricate. Beautiful. Profound. Powerful.
Their lush instrumental dreamscapes and guitar swells remain, with this record having an almost Boards of Canada-esque feel to it on first listen. The lovely guitar interplay is as strong as ever and the layers slowly unfold on repeated listen, as is the case with many of my all-time favorite albums.
Their sound is custom-made to evoke visual images and their excellent work sound-tracking Friday Night Lights has influenced the entire film/TV-scoring industry. While listening to TC, TC, TC I had vision of train barreling furiously down the track in a snowstorm.
Austin fans are out of luck if they don’t already have tickets to the sold out Arcade Fire/EITS show May 3rd at the Backyard. But I think tickets are still available for the Houston show. Austin’s other instrumental standouts The Octopus Project support the Explosions for many of the U.S. dates.
Explosions in the Sky 2011 tour dates (including shows already played):
4/01 – Oxford, MS @ The Lyric ^
4/03 – Charlotte, NC @ Amos’ Southend ^
4/04 – Richmond, VA @ The National ^
4/06 – New York, NY @ Radio City Music Hall *
4/08 – Pittsburgh, PA @ Stage AE ^
4/09 – Columbus, OH @ Outland Live ^
4/10 – Columbia, MO @ The Blue Note ^
5/03 – Austin, TX @ The Backyard #
5/04 – Houston, TX @ Cynthia Woods Pavillion #
5/15 – Edinburg, UK @ HMV Picturehouse %
5/16 – Dublin, IE @ Vicar St %
5/17 – Manchester, UK @ Academy %
5/19 – London, UK @ The Roundhouse %
5/20 – Paris, FR @ Bataclan %
5/22 – Berlin, DE @ Postbahnhof %
5/23 – Cologne, DE @ Essigfabrik %
5/24 – Brussels, BE @ Ancienne Belgique %
5/25 – Amsterdam, NL @ Paradiso %
5/27 – Barcelona, ES @ Primavera Sound
6/09-12 – Manchester, TN @ Bonnaroo Music Festival
9/09-13 – Oslo, NO @ Oya Festival
^ = w/ The Octopus Project
* = w/ Low and Eluvium (piano only set)
# = w/ Arcade Fire
% = w/ Lichens
Tracklist
1) “Last Known Surroundings,” 8:22
2) “Human Qualities,” 8:10
3) “Trembling Hands,” 3:31
4) “Be Comfortable, Creature,” 8:48
5) “Postcard from 1952,” 7:07
6) “Let Me Back In,” 10:07
