Pitchfork

Eluvium's Matthew Cooper couldn't conjure much visual spectacle at last night's sold-out Metro gig, cooped up behind a laptop, keyboards, processed guitar, and assorted knobs and wires, but that wasn't really the point. His transcendental soundscapes-- several reenacted from this year's Temporary Residence LP Copia-- cast an even more meditative spell when blared over the Metro's enormous speakers, and those of us who weren't talking over them were very much lost in them.

One of these things is not like the others; can you guess which? The Paper Chase's John Congleton produced Explosions in the Sky's latest, All of a Sudden I Miss Everyone, but that, four dudes, and Texas are pretty much all the two bands have in common. If Explosions were destined to soundtrack high school football in slow motion, the Paper Chase are best suited for erratic super-8 footage of demolition derbies-- with Freddy Krueger and Norman Bates and other figures who straddle the line between horror and kitsch behind the wheel. Indeed, paranoia and gallows humor take centerstage in most of Congleton's lyrics, and he has enough lyrics to make up for both of the instrumental acts his band was shoehorned in between.

The band's still tight and ferocious, at their best on relentless numbers like last year's "The Kids Will Grow Up to Be Assholes". This, of course, was totally not their scene, and Congleton wasn't oblivious to the sea of perplexed and annoyed faces. "I should have been looking at you guys!" he announced after the set, addressing an enthusiastic bunch near the bar who chirped their approval.

Anyway, this is what the kids came to see. And even if they are Godspeed-lite, never quite soaring nor plummeting to the extremes that Canadian post-rock collective frequently inhabited, Explosions in the Sky still command reverential respect from fans. Network television has certainly helped, but let's not discredit the fab four behind the music, who've perfected a formula for tugging heartstrings with mere guitar strings-- and just pouring on the catharses live.

Bassist Michael James brings the muscle, his tremolo wrist working faster than a hummingbird's heart, while guitarist Munaf Rayani adds the passion, gesticulating and falling over in some kind of sonic ecstasy. Laud guitarist Mark Smith for balancing the equation with restraint, his leads often carrying the most emotional heft as well. And drummer Chris Hrasky? I guess he's the cute one.

EXPLOSIONS IN THE SKY










THE PAPER CHASE






ELUVIUM

Explosions in the Sky:

03-29 Minneapolis, MN - First Avenue ^%
03-30 Omaha, NE - Sokol Underground ^%
03-31 Lawrence, KS - The Bottleneck ^%
04-01 Norman, OK - Oklahoma Memorial Union %
04-02 Dallas, TX - Granada Theater %
04-17 Glasgow, Scotland - ABC *
04-18 Manchester, England - Academy 3 *
04-19 London, England - Astoria *
04-20 Leuven, Belgium - Het Depot *
04-21 Reims, France - La Cartonnerie #
04-22 Tourcoing, France - Le Grand Mix *
04-23 Strasbourg, France - La Laiterie-Grande Salle *
04-26 Tempe, AZ - The Clubhouse ^
04-27 San Diego, CA - Epicentre ^
04-29 Indio, CA - Empire Polo Field (Coachella)
05-01 San Francisco, CA - Slim's ^
05-03 Eugene, OR - WOW Hall ^
05-04 Portland, OR - Wonder Ballroom ^
05-05 Vancouver, British Columbia - Croatian Centre ^
05-06 Seattle, WA - Neumos ^
05-07 Seattle, WA - Neumos ^
05-20 Somerset, England - Butlins Minehead (All Tomorrow's Parties)
05-22 Oslo, Norway - John Dee ^
05-23 Stockholm, Sweden - Kägelbanan ^
05-24 Malmo, Sweden - Debaser ^
05-25 Hamburg, Germany - Uebel & Gefaehrlich ^
05-26 Munich, Germany - Feierwerk ^
05-27 Lausanne, Switzerland - Le Romandie ^
05-28 Bologna, Italy - Covo ^
05-29 Vienna, Austria - Flex ^
05-30 Heidelberg, Germany - Karlstorbahnhof ^
05-31 Barcelona, Spain - Parc del Forum (Primavera Sound)
06-01 Neustrelitz, Germany - Immergut Festival

^ with Eluvium
% with the Paper Chase
* with Gravenhurst
# with 65Daysofstatic