EXPOLOSIONS IN THE SKY- TAKE CARE, TAKE CARE, TAKE CARE
Explosions In The Sky are a Texan four-piece that first showed up on the radar providing soundtracks to the movie Friday Night Lights as well as the TV show of the same name. Seven years on and over a decade since their debut release, Take Care, Take Care, Take Care is their sixth studio album. The goal seems to be an orchestral feel and structure with a rock band arrangement. Instrumental rock can be viewed as lazy or brave. Not having to write lyrics or deal with a egotistical front man can have its benefits. The down side is that it can be much harder for the listener to engage. There isn’t anything terribly wrong with this album, but for an instrumental it could be doing more. The melodies are guitar-led and manage to create light and shade and emotion. However they aren’t at a Vai or Satriani level. But who is. Great instrumental albums like Mike Oldfield’s Tubular Bells just have a lot more happening. Sure it had a more diverse arrangement but without it Take Care, Take Care, Take Care ends up sounding like a mix between Smashing Pumpkins and Dinosaur Jr without vocals, and longer.
**1/2
