EXPLOSIONS IN THE SKY

End (Bella Union)

Of post-rock’s Big Four – Mogwai, Godspeed You! Black Emperor, Sigur Rós and Explosions In The Sky – the latter have arguably always been the most conventional, and their first album since 2016’s The Wilderness does little to shift that perception.

End begins with Ten Billion People and Moving On, a pair of tracks noteworthy for an uncharacteristic immediacy – but otherwise the Texans haven’t moved on much and it’s basically business as usual: twinkly guitar interplay, signature swells, stately peaks.

Not that that’s a bad thing – far from it. Peace Or Quiet proves that loud and graceful need not be mutually exclusive, while the climax to The Fight comes closest to robbing the seasoned fan of breath. If you’re in search of unpredictable firecrackers and whizzbangs, you’d probably be better off looking elsewhere – but Explosions In The Sky can still be trusted to put on a good display. Welcome indeed is the reassurance that End, despite its title, will not be their swansong.

words BEN WOOLHEAD