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

01 - The Birth And Death Of The Day
02 - Welcome, Ghosts
03 - It's Natural To Be Afraid
04 - What Do You Go Home To?
05 - Catastrophe And The Cure
06 - So Long, Lonesome


The world has long been anticipating a new album from Explosions In The Sky ever since they changed the landscape of Post-Rock with their 2003 release The Earth Is Not A Cold Dead Place. Since then, many bands have tried to emulate the sound of EITS, but the majority have failed. However, with the rising popularity of Post-Rock over the past few years and the hibernation of its early artists, many new bands such as Yndi Halda, The Samuel Jackson Five, and Gregor Samsa have emerged as the frontrunners of the new Post-Rock era. With All Of A Sudden, I Miss Everyone Explosions In The Sky show that they are still the among the elite, not only of Post-Rock, but of music in general.

All Of A Sudden, I Miss Everyone is Explosions In The Sky’s fourth full-length record and on it they bring much of the usual. But that’s not necessarily a bad thing. When you’re Explosions In The Sky and your last album is considered one of the greatest albums of the decade, more of the same is still better than 95% of music out there. However, that being said, All Of A Sudden, I Miss Everyone does bring a few new things to the table.

Prior to All Of A Sudden, I Miss Everyone EITS released a short little EP called The Rescue on which they experimented heavily, and this experimentation, though much more subdued, carries its way onto their new album. The major new element found on All Of A Sudden, I Miss Everyone is the addition of a piano to their traditional rock quartet, which adds a much more eerie element not found on their previous works, especially to the intro of the 13 minute track "It’s Natural To Be Afraid."

Another slight deviation is the return to a heavier drum sound similar to their second album Those Who Tell The Truth... This is most evident on the monolithic crescendo of the opening track "The Birth And Death Of The Day", which might be EITS's best song ever. Also, the closing track "So Long, Lonesome", with its gorgeous piano playing and closing hovering drum beat, is without a doubt EITS's best song ever under 4 minutes in length.

The only major fault found on All Of A Sudden, I Miss Everyone is that it does not convey a certain mood as well as The Earth Is Not A Cold Dead Place. It sounds a bit choppy and more like a collection of incredibly good songs, as opposed to sounding like one beautiful 45 minute piece.

With all this being said, All Of A Sudden, I Miss Everyone is still a beautiful record which everyone should bear witness to.