Explosions in the Sky

Take Care, Take Care, Take Care by Explosions in the Sky

Review by: Michelle Le
The Austin-based quartet finally broke a four-year hiatus with the release of their sixth studio album, Take Care, Take Care, Take Care. Explosions in the Sky have always resented and denied their “post-rock” status. But the band has consistently produced guitar-driven, reverb-heavy instrumental soundscapes with contrasting dynamics and slow build-ups. Again, Take Care indulges its listeners with multi-layered distortion-filled epics—each track opens with vague understatements, intricately building up more layers until it climaxes into a high explosion of loud guitars with arpeggiated melodies and a pounding drum kit, and then resolving into drifting softer tones. The standout track seems to be “Trembling Hands”, which actually contains vocals (exclamations of “oh, oh, oh!”)—but the most interesting component is the exasperated drumming of Chris Hrasky, whose instrument dominates the song.

Listeners may be disappointed with the lack of experimentation, arguing that the album is predictable, expected, and too similar to the band’s past work. Indeed, Explosions in the Sky have in this album resumed to their usual style—but it is a style they have mastered and even trademarked, a style they consistently execute beautifully. Although the band chose not to stray too far from their distinct sound in Take Care, fans of Explosions in the Sky and post-rock in general will be pleased with this album.