Pitchfork

What's that up above? Bird? Plane? Superman? Ever better: It's po-ro torchbearers Explosions in the Sky, setting the heavens aflame with their scintillating, pedal-punched, drama-drenched instrumentals.

The Austin four-piece return early next year with their first proper LP in nearly four years, the Temporary Residence-stamped All of a Sudden I Miss Everyone, which crash-lands February 20. If that isn't pretty much the most emo album title ever, I'll eat my own broken heart.

I Miss Everyone showcases six soaring post-rock anthems, including 13+ minute epic "It's Natural to Be Afraid", all recorded by the pAper chAse's John Congleton at Pachyderm Studio in the boonies of Minnesota. Click the link below for an exclusive stream of the record's second track, the inspired "Welcome, Ghosts".

And if that weren't enough to write home about, how's this: limited edition, deluxe versions of I Miss Everyone come packaged with a second, album-length bonus disc collecting six remixes-- one of each track-- by several of thee kewlest peeps in the game: Four Tet, Jesu, Eluvium, Adem, Mountains, and even Congleton's own Paper Chase.

Explosions celebrate the birth of their latest opus with two special New York gigs in February and a few scattered dates thereafter, with more tour destinations to follow. If you'd rather experience the band's magic from the comfort of your easy chair, however, tune in to "Friday Night Lights", the NBC football drama series inspired by the Explosions-scored film, which sets gridiron grind against some choice EitS slow-burners.

All of a Sudden I Miss Everyone:

01 The Birth and Death of the Day
02 Welcome, Ghosts
03 It's Natural to Be Afraid
04 What Do You Go Home To?
05 Catastrophe and the Cure
06 So Long, Lonesome

Bonus disc:

01 The Birth and Death of the Day (Jesu Mix)
02 Welcome, Ghosts (Adem Mix)
03 It's Natural to Be Afraid (The Paper Chase Mix)
04 What Do You Go Home To? (Mountains Mix)
05 Catastrophe and the Cure (Four Tet Mix)
06 So Long, Lonesome (Eluvium Mix)

Explosions on the stage:

02-19 Brooklyn, NY - Warsaw
02-20 New York, NY - The Wordless Music Series at the Society for Ethical Culture Concert Hall *
02-26 Brussels, Belgium - ABBox
03-01 London, England - KOKO
03-11 Sunrise, FL - Markham Park (Langerado Music Festival)

* with Ayano Kataoka