Post-rock has begun to bore me. I'll be honest. Not many bands can hold my
attention these days with yet another approximation of the tried
& tested quiet/loud dynamic. Mogwai only knock yer socks off live
really, basically cos yer glued to the floor with whatever substances you've
imbibed working in league with the fractured strobes & bowel emptying
feedback/propulsive distortion. Explosions In The Sky's last album was Ok
I suppose, a bit clean & bland, going through the motions. The good thing is
that it opened doors for them all over the shop, going from 30 people in a
Manchester pub on a drizzly weekday night to absolutely ramming 400 capacity
clubs in the space of a few months. I wanna capture that Manchester pub gig
though & the only way I'll do that now is to play their re-mastered debut
(there was only a handful of scrappy CDr's to start with) on Temporary
Residence. This is the shit. The band are a bit "ashamed" of 'How
Strange, Innocence' apparently but they should hold back their perfectionist
ideals & embrace this fledgling beauty as the rough diamond it really is.
Perfection = bland y'see. These 7 tracks are spine tingling, beautiful, spectral
& tense, forever building towards that nerve shredding climax that this band
built their foundations on. The true companion piece to 'Those Who
Tell The Truth....' Lovely new artwork too! I'd invest with glee!
Love this record? Hate it? Tell us.
What their label says...
How Strange Innocence was pushed aside in favor of the more accomplished Those Who Tell The Truth as the band's introduction to the rest of the world, seeing no official release beyond 300 CDRs the band produced to sell on the road. Original CDRs fetch over $200 on eBay, the scarce vinyl version nearing $500! This phenomenon was disconcerting to the band & their growing number of fans, which makes us all the more proud to announce this official How Strange Innocence reissue, beautifully remastered with all new artwork.
