Album Review with Isaiah: Big Bend
Sometimes we all need a burst of instrumental to sit back and relax. It can be a much-needed stress reliever after a long day or assistance with studying. Explosions in the Sky is a Post-Rock Band that focuses on building instrumentals without the use of lyrics and each can tell this story in a way. Though you may not know their name, their music has been used in commercials, movies and television because they have proven themselves skilled in the making of it. Their most recent album, Big Bend, came out in 2021 and features their classic style that brings some soothing sounds to the soul.
The first song in the album is titled “Chisos” which features some simple sounds of guitars, drums and other instruments which help to build the song. It helps feature this peaceful life and sounds perfect to study outside on a sunny day. They use rhythm and instruments to help set a scene of a clean day outside to create a serene scene of nature. This song is perfect to add to any playlist for studying or an outside chill playlist for those days by the pool.
“Stories in Stone” is a shorter song in the album. It sets a tone that brings out imagery of a night sky. On Spotify, the video playing behind it is of a bat flying through the night which shows the band made the song with the intention of night imagery coming to mind. This song is perfect for a late-night drive if you have some thinking to do or to add to a late-night studying playlist.
Another notable song is their last song, “Human History”. The song starts off with an ominous sound of wind and background of bells. The song builds up slowly, changing the beat of instruments to fit into a different narrative, adding in drums, piano and guitar. The development of the song creates this reflection of the title as a constant motion of time. This song is a lot like their other music where it is lengthier (at just over six minutes) and utilizes a variety of sounds. This song is a perfect gateway into their other music and shows their skill set involving instrumentals.
If you are interested in instrumental music, be sure to check out more of their albums and check out Post-Rock as a genre. Explosions in the Sky is a popular band in the genre, but each band provides a different story in their music to check out.
Do you have an album you would like me to review from an artist or band? Please don’t be afraid to reach out to me through email at igillian@usca.edu and send give me some recommendations for future weeks!
