While their debut album was equal parts all-out guitar assault and plaintive resignation, Explosions in the Sky plumbs the depths of their oeuvre by digging within on their second record, even in its first moments. The quietly played notes that begin the first track eventually join with a heartbeat of percussion that builds into a carefully blended swell where all instruments feel like they're being played with someone's life on the line. When it all finally combusts, it's not at all like before: it's better.
The relentless touring; the stigma associated with album covers and titles; the strife that comes with any band meeting this much popularity this soon all have served to teach this band what it is exactly they possess, what hold they have. They've pulled out the stops on their growth, and become one time and time again over this at once triumphant and sad record. The quiet-loud-quiet dynamics that were there before are less extreme in variation, but where some might miss these moments it has actually strengthened their ethos considerably. There's no fear in this music. The members of the band have surrendered themselves completely to this art, and the end result is radiant. The first half is the triumph, where "First Breath After Coma" and "The Only Moment We Were Alone" display a renewed hope and vitality. These are the songs that say "We've been through hell, but we're all going to be okay. We're not out of the woods yet, but we're still here." For the ones who didn't make it, like the poor sailors on the Kursk who inspired the songs' creation, there's "Six Days at the Bottom of the Ocean" and "Memorial," two sad but gorgeous numbers that represent the mourning and pain that can devastate. Then, in the midst of it all, comes "Your Hand in Mine," the closest thing to an honest to god love song Explosions may ever give up. "Your Hand" brings everything full circle, and, like the rest of the album, shows the real beauty in what this band can accomplish. Their US tour has already begun, and if you've never seen them now is the time. 
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