Imagine Chris Martin or Bono being booted out of the next Coldplay or U2 studio session long enough that the rest of the band has time to let their sweet, pretty pop melodies evolve far beyond the next top 40 song and into something much more epic, elegant, and dramatic. This is Explosions In The Sky.

To clarify, while there are no vocals present, EITS should not be mistaken as just another pretentious, cooler-than-thou post-rock release like those of Godspeed You Black Emperor and Mogwai. Perhaps it is because, unlike most of the music in this particular genre, EITS hails from Austin, Texas. As such, there is a layer of warmth and optimism that rings forth from the crisply balanced guitars, bass, and drums that is absent from similar bands.

Many of the songs like “First Breath After a Coma” and “Your Hand In Mine” seem to follow the post-rock formula of a slow crescendo toward audio orgasm. On the other hand, EITS seems to have enough restraint to never take it over the top. There are no distortion pedals here nor any loosely arranged orchestra careening out of synch as the volume increases toward some imaginary release. Instead the climaxes rely on the natural progression of multiple melodies layered together to form incredible harmonies. In that sense the peaks are more genuinely emotional than theatrical, more organic that intellectual, more tasteful than forced.

There were few releases in 2004 that captured my attention or spent any time whatsoever in my CD player, but I found myself continually returning to this gentle, powerful, elegant release.