11-27: Lightning Bolt: Hypermagic Mountain
11-20: Wooden Wand and the Vanishi...: The Flood
10-02: ...: Oboroed/Circus Live...
07-04: Need New Body: Where's Black Ben?
04-09: Caribou: The Milk of Human Kindness
10-13: Sonic Youth: Sonic Nurse
10-13: Things Explod...: It's Never Worked Befor...
10-03: Controller.Controller: History
Music Reviews index


11-09: Three...Extremes
10-19: Battle Royale II
10-04: A History of Violence
08-26: Grizzly Man
08-22: The 40 Year-Old Virgin
08-12: The Dukes of Hazzard
08-05: The Devil's Rejects
08-03: The Island
Movie Reviews index


01-06: List: Best/Worst of 2005: Movies
08-28: List: 2004's 50 Best Albums, Part 2
07-02: List: 2004's Best and Worst Movies
04-20: Article: Mikel Ate That CD
04-20: Interview: Half of the Fiery Furnaces
04-17: List: 2004's 50 Best Albums, Part 1
04-08: List: 2003's 20 Best Albums
Features index


Explosions in the Sky: Those Who Tell the Truth Shall Die, Those Who Tell the Truth Shall Live Forever
Explosions in the Sky
Those Who Tell the Truth Shall Die, Those Who Tell the Truth Shall Live Forever
Temporary Residence: August 27, 2001

90


What would be the result if one were to combine the accessibility of Mogwai and the overall goodness of the climactic parts of Godspeed You Black Emperor? Texas quartet Explosions in the Sky come the closest to answering that question, with their debut album Those Who Tell the Truth Shall Die, Those Who Tell the Truth Shall Live Forever, that this reviewer has heard in a while. The songs are the perfect alternative for fans of Godspeed! at their best, but who get bored with the meandering crescendos and buildup. The longest song on the album, "With Tired Eyes ..." clocks in at 12:04; still lengthy, but half the length of the average Godspeed! suite. "The Moon is Down", with its haunting jangly guitar mantra at beginning and end and disconcertingly upbeat guitar phrases between, along with "With Tired Eyes, Tired Minds, Tired Souls, We Slept", the most reminiscent of another band whose name I have used far too many times already in this review, and "Greet Death", a fantastic introduction to the album, are the standout tracks; but the album, in its entirety, is excellent. Any fan of bands in the vein of Godspeed would do well to give Explosions in the Sky a listen.


quoth Noah Jackson.



-> 1/ Greet Death
2/ Yasmin the Light
-> 3/ The Moon is Down
4/ Have You Passed Through This Night?
5/ A Poor Man's Memory
-> 6/ With Tired Eyes, Tired Minds, Tired Souls, We Slept