Explosions In The Sky All Of A Sudden I Miss Everyone by: Adam Davy Mon:19-Mar-07 Label: Temporary Residence Year: 2007 WB rating 79 out of 100

I’d like to start by using this forum to publicly thank that sassy minx Fergie. For whilst she’s out there going on about her ‘lady bumps’ and ‘fergie-licious’ sexual prowess, all the while accompanied by naught bar a simplistic electronic beat, she is so effectively illustrating a fundamental principle of songwriting: an abundance of lyrics does not necessarily a good song make.

And that’s just as well for Texan post-rock outfit Explosions in the Sky, whose latest release, All Of A Sudden I Miss Everyone, includes no lyrics whatsoever. Rather, their message of heart-felt contemplation is communicated almost exclusively through the marriage of three guitars and a set of drums.

I say ‘almost’, because song titles such as ‘It’s Natural To Be Afraid’, ‘What Do You Go Home To?’ and ‘So Long, Lonesome’, give some hint as to the melancholic nature of the compositions. But, ultimately, it is the music itself which reveals its solemn intent, and before long it becomes apparent that the album is in many ways a carefully crafted orchestral exploration of the human condition; an ultimate acceptance of life’s fragile inevitabilities.

On All Of A Sudden I Miss Everyone, Explosions In The Sky certainly justify their MySpace description of ‘equal parts romance and tragedy’. Mind you, we’re not talking about Panic At The Disco theatrics and makeup here. We’re talking about the kind of deep, expressionless passion and pain that you’ve spent years repressing, only for fifteen minutes spent listening to this album to leave you with your head buried in your hands, a salty cocktail of remorse and relief flowing freely through your fingers.

It is this emotional evocation that is the real strength of All Of A Sudden I Miss Everyone. As is often the case with powerful instrumental soundscapes, the absence of vocals permits the listener a greater degree of freedom to negotiate the personal significance of the songs, and actively construct their own experiential interpretation of the album. The effect is a compilation that feels intensely personal, to the point of creating a sense of emotional exposure that is both empowering and, at times, a little unsettling.

This personal connection feels so effective, that if I were to condense my entire life into the space of an hour, and then somehow translate this experience into music, one suspects the result would sound much like All Of A Sudden I Miss Everyone. In essence, the album is a provocative personalised soundtrack that feels like the perfect accompaniment to an existential exploration. Through such an exploration you inevitably find yourself thinking of the people you know, the life you’ve led, what could have been in the past, and ultimately, what might yet be in the future.

In fact, I found the emotional provocation of this album to be so engrossing, that when the final track faded, and I was left sitting in my darkened room alone, I actually had the lingering sensation of feeling somewhat enlightened. In my emotionally heightened state, the world, and my place in it, seemed somehow beautified, to the point that I almost felt like running outside with fists pumping towards the night sky, to call forth the triumphant euphoria of the coming day. 

Having said that however, All Of A Sudden I Miss Everyone is definitely not an album you would throw on at your next house party. Evidently, it’s an album of intense and intricate beauty that is best appreciated alone. It not only deserves your full attention, but essentially offers you the listener, a window through which to explore your soul. The emotion that Explosions In The Sky manage to conjure with their compositions is at times a little unnerving, but if you simply surrender yourself to the music, the end result is a rewarding one that transcends the descriptive capacity of words. But as this album so wonderfully illustrates, words aren’t necessarily that important anyway.

Have Explosions In The Sky created one of the greatest albums you will ever hear? Probably not. Does All Of A Sudden I Miss Everyone potentially expand your appreciation of how music can interact with the human spirit? I’d have to say that yes, it does. And is this album more rewarding than listening to Fergie brag about her kickass titties? You’re goddamn right it is.
  
All Of A Sudden I Miss Everyone is a complex, multi-layered aural journey of considerable scope and ambition. Although it falls just short of epic, it is nevertheless a moving, and somewhat profound, musical experience that is well worth investing your time in.