Explosions In The Sky - All Of A Sudden I Miss Everyone

What would you prefer to navigate an ocean with, a sailboat, or a speedboat? On one hand, the sailboat is a thing of great beauty which majesticly traverses the waves, ultimately under the control of nature itself.

You just kick back and enjoy the experience of just being out there. If you prefer the speedboat however, you obviously like to be going somewhere, you'd rather have control over the experience and travel on your own terms.

If you opted for the motorboat, chances are you won't enjoy the latest full-length from this Texan four piece.

For their music is all about the experience, about closing your eyes and letting it wash over you. It won't teach you anything about politics, about romance, about human nature, but it will summon an awe of respect for the beauty that music can provide.

There are many people that cry foul of this genre of music, saying that it is tired and stagnant, wrapped up in an endless loop of building crescendos. That is missing the point a bit, every genre has traits that embody it. Pop music has its endless amount of choruses', rock has the guitar solo, metal has crushing breakdowns and so on. The trick is to use these staples to create something great, familiar and yet original. And in this, Explosions in the Sky score very well.

Clocking in with six tracks, "All of a Sudden I Miss Everyone" thankfully doesn't surrender itself to indulgency and keeps a fairly lean running time for each track with the exception of centrepiece "It's natural to be afraid", which although being around 13 minutes long, wanders through various soundscapes like a lost child in a forest which is gradually being sprinkled with nervous slithers of light. All of these elements combine to make a package that will appeal to regulars of the genre and may also garner some new fans to the scene with it's simple yet effective beauty.