(3302) The Decemberists / Explosions in the Sky

From the ACL Taping Program on July 10, 2007:

Not many bands seek out the label of “hyper-literate prog rock.” But with their upbeat, folk influenced pop, the Portland-based The Decemberists have taken control of that emerging indie rock genre. The band’s lyrics “skip across history … and overflow with mellifluous rhymes” [Entertainment Weekly] to reveal “a wit so bizarre and vaudevillian beauty so ultimately endearing” [Alternative Press].

The Decemberists rose through the ranks of the indie music world with a series of bold, beautiful albums, including 2005’s Picaresque and 2003’s Her Majesty. Along the way their fan base grew and critics constantly pointed to Colin Meloy’s transcendent, intelligent lyrics as the key to the band’s success. Rolling Stone wrote: “the lyrically impaired alt-rock world, Colin Meloy is lionized for his literary prowess.”

The band’s most recent release, their major label debut 2006’s The Crane Wife, is based on a classic Japanese folk tale. “I thought that it would be a great thing to try to put it to some sort of song form, be it a single tune or something longer,” Meloy said. “So I struggled with that for years until finally I realized that it just needed more parts and set about building those.”

The New York Times wrote that The Crane Wife “represents the band’s sharpest and most satisfying work, and one of the most accomplished albums of this year.”

From the ACL Taping Program on June 29, 2007:

Austin’s Explosions in the Sky brings an emotional heft and sense of hope to the instrumental music genre. With epic songs that contain no singing, the band has built a large following without any radio play through a combination of beautiful melodies, cathartic mini-symphonies and head-spinning walls of noise.

Formed in 1999, Explosions in the Sky features guitarists Munaf Rayani and Mark Smith, bassist/guitarist Michael James and drummer Chris Hrasky. After 2000’s How Strange, Innocence and 2001’s Those Who Tell the Truth Shall Die, Those Who Tell the Truth Shall Live Forever, the band began receiving broader national attention with 2003’s The Earth is Not a Cold Dead Place. A Stylus Magazine review wrote: “The feeling I’m left with, after ‘Your Hand In Mine’ ebbs away, is that I may never need another instrumental album like this again. The Earth Is Not A Cold Dead Place has already provided what may be the ideal version. And for that it is absolutely essential.” In 2004, the band recorded the soundtrack to Peter Berg’s film “Friday Night Lights.” Their music is also heavily featured in the television series of the same name.

Explosions in the Sky’s latest release, All Of A Sudden I Miss Everyone, has been called “a masterpiece that flows brilliantly” [Magnet] and “takes prisoner of your head and your heart.” [The Guardian]. Recorded in rural Minnesota, the album showcases a broader instrumental range and focused, efficient songwriting. Entertainment Weekly wrote “The band runs through intricately nuanced compositions with the fervor of an inspired jam session.”