Explosions in the Sky / Eluvium

Shafts of pink light illuminated the not quite empty stage of Manchester Academy. On the very right, amidst the abandoned microphone and guitar stands, drum hardware and amplifiers a lone man sat, bathed in the smoky light and accompanied only by a small laptop, a keyboard and his guitar resting in his lap.

Despite the humble appearance, though, this solitary artist who goes by the name 'Eluvium' created a sound and presence disproportionately large and overpowering. He began with a simple progression of echoic notes on his guitar. Each stroke looped endlessly so he spread layer and layer of melody building up a wall of noise so intense and encompassing it saturated and all but drowned you in sound.

Apart from a pretty classical piano piece, the rest of the songs were carried off in much the same way, which detracted slightly from the uniqueness of the whole process. Also, the sound quality was far from acceptable, though not a problem during the loud crescendos, there was a hiss that shrouded the quieter beginnings of songs. Still, though, the talent and intelligence behind such beautiful noise (and only from one man!) deserves attention.

Four Texans took up their positions under the white lights, apologised for their past cancellations, said something along the lines of "We’re Explosions in the Sky, here we go!" and away they went for an hour and a half without so much as a pause for breath, moving from one song to another so seamlessly you'd be forgiven for thinking they only played one song.

In a similar way to Eluvium, EITS's songs started small, with drumming and throbbing bass building anticipation behind clean and beautifully delicate melodies. Over time the songs evolved and branched off in a thorough exploration of each musical idea. The intensity waxing and waning throughout the show giving lulling calm and serenity before blowing you away with tempestuous climaxes. Poetic descriptions can't hope to give the full impression of what it is like to see this band live but suffice it to say that the band had my complete and undivided attention for the full hour and a half set.

Each member brought their own unique and complimentary part to EITS's ambience, the winding treble of guitarists Mark Smith and Munaf Rayani weaving with Christopher Hrasky's powerful drumming. Michael James' bass playing is impressively varied. Quiet and moody sets the tone for the song but before too long he is thrashing his guitar around strumming chords wildly, even rhythmically hammering his heavy hands into the body to give a thunderously dark percussive element to their already sinister sounding 'The Birth and Death of the Day' from their most recent album 'All of a Sudden I Miss Everyone'. Together, these uniquely talented individuals create an epic sound truly worthy of the metaphorical connotations their name entails. Thankfully, as well, the poor sounds quality during Eluvium's set was remote to that set alone.

Explosions in the Sky sounded perfect. Like a macrocosm of the songs themselves the gig ended in a huge climax seeing all the members frantically reaping their instruments for every ounce of noise they had the potential to give and flailing their heads around like the possessed, casting huge dramatic shadows of their forms round the venue walls. So intense was this finish that the decision to not have an encore was entirely appropriate, though countless members of the audience made their displeasure about it apparent.

FUTURE GIGS