Explosions In The Sky - 'Take Care, Take Care, Take Care' (Album Review)
Friday, 15 April 2011
Written by Ben Bland
If you are a fan of the musical subgenre known as post-rock the chances are pretty high that you have, at some point, been wildly in love with an album called 'The Earth is Not a Cold Dead Place' by a band known as Explosions in the Sky.
Alongside works by ubiquitous post-rock giants Godspeed You! Black Emperor and Mogwai, this album is generally seen to be one of post-rock’s defining records and has received almost universal acclaim. With its gentle melodies and soaring climaxes, that album stands without question as one of the great post-rock releases.
Unfortunately, since its release in 2003, the following Explosions in the Sky albums have not quite lived up to expectations. Whilst 'The Rescue' and 'All of a Sudden I Miss Everyone' were actually pretty good they lacked the pure brilliance of their immediate predecessor. Early whisperings about the newest album by the band, 'Take Care, Take Care, Take Care', have suggested that it may be the successor to 'The Earth is Not a Cold Dead Place' that many fans and critics have been waiting for.
Sadly, this is either misplaced sentimentalism or an inability to observe the blindingly obvious. 'Take Care, Take Care, Take Care' is the sound of a band that is trying desperately to return to former glories whilst also trying to add new facets to its sound, and they are incapable of doing either. Yes, here is some news for Explosions in the Sky, adding handclaps to a record does not constitute a brave new approach. Furthermore writing songs that are barely interesting enough to constitute b-sides to some of your earlier material is not going to help you get back to the top of your game. On the face of it, for sure, this record sounds pretty good. All the ingredients that have made the band the force they have been in the past are present. Take 'Human Qualities', which meanders through an extremely pleasant set of ominous melodies for most of its running time before exploding into life with a climax that is almost as soaring as a climax can get. The issue is exactly that this is what the band has done before, and many times before. It is just that when the band did it before they did it in a way that was both inspiring and memorable. Now what they have succeeded in doing is merely becoming a pastiche of themselves.
'Take Care, Take Care, Take Care' is full of Explosions in the Sky being Explosions in the Sky but when you have been doing that for such a long time as they have you cannot expect to keep producing work that is of the same high standards.
This is ultimately proved most explicitly by 'Let Me Back In', the closing track. When you first hear it, it sounds great. It sounds like everything post-rock should be, and above all it is a joyous listen but after it is over it leaves nothing behind. It is hollow, the emotional depth that the band have been able to convey in the past is gone and, as that was always their greatest asset, what is left behind is a disappointingly empty shell. It is a crying shame that this record fails as it does. Undoubtedly it can be a temporarily diverting and pleasant listen but this album will never speak to you as it wishes to. It will never comfort you and it will never be there for you when you need it most. It is a tired retread of everything Explosions in the Sky have been before and, as with all retreads, this will let you down. Harsh, but ultimately fair.
One thing I despise is when people say that post-rock is a dead scene, it is not. There are still bands out there, a few admittedly rather than a great amount, who are taking the genre to new heights. In the next few months there will be new releases from the likes of And So I Watch You From Afar, Russian Circles and Maybeshewill. Whether you particularly rate these bands or not, you should accept that these are the acts keeping post-rock alive with their energy and exuberance. Sadly the time of Explosions in the Sky has come to an end. I have often heard the band described as the ‘kings’ of post-rock. Well it is time to accept that they are not the kings anymore, they are not even pretenders to the throne.
Album Rating: 5/10
“Take Care, Take Care, Take Care” is released on April 18th in the UK; a special vinyl edition is available on Record Store Day (April 16th).
Explosions in the Sky tour the UK from May 15th to May 19th.
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Unfortunately, since its release in 2003, the following Explosions in the Sky albums have not quite lived up to expectations. Whilst 'The Rescue' and 'All of a Sudden I Miss Everyone' were actually pretty good they lacked the pure brilliance of their immediate predecessor. Early whisperings about the newest album by the band, 'Take Care, Take Care, Take Care', have suggested that it may be the successor to 'The Earth is Not a Cold Dead Place' that many fans and critics have been waiting for.
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