The Wilderness (album)

The Wilderness
Studio album by Explosions in the Sky
Released	April 1, 2016
Genre	Post-rock, electronic rock
Length	46:20
Label	Temporary Residence Limited TRR270
Producer	Explosions in the Sky and John Congleton
Explosions in the Sky chronology
Take Care, Take Care, Take Care (2011) The Wilderness (2016)
Singles from The Wilderness
"Disintegration Anxiety" Released: January 10, 2016 "Logic of a Dream" Released: February 29, 2016

The Wilderness is the seventh studio album by American post-rock band Explosions in the Sky, released on April 1, 2016.^[1][2]

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
Metacritic	82/100[3]
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[4]
Consequence of Sound	[5]
The Guardian	[6]
Pitchfork	(8/10)[7]
Q Magazine	[8]
The Line of Best Fit	[9]

The album has received positive reviews from critics, and Metacritic has assigned it an average score of 82/100 based on 22 critics.^[3] Dave Simpson for The Guardian called it a "beautifully understated epic" and rewarded the album 4 out of 5 stars.^[6] Johnathan K. Dick, writing for Consequence of Sound stated that, "The Wilderness proves that Explosions in the Sky aren't stuck in any creative rut." and gave the album a B+. ^[5] Paul Simpson for AllMusic gave the album 4 stars and said, "On The Wilderness, Explosions in the Sky deconstruct and rebuild their sound from the ground up, giving it a revitalized sense of urgency and resulting in some of their most dynamic work yet." ^[4] Pitchfork rewarded the album 8/10 and said it is "their best since The Earth is Not a Cold Dead Place." ^[7]

However, some critics gave the album mixed reviews. Mojo, in their May 2016 issue, stated that "Although recognisably, and powerfully, the work of Explosions In The Sky this is now a band whose music undulates."

Cover and insert artwork are whole and parts of a painting "8th and Main" by Jacob van Loon.^[10]

Accolades

Publication	Accolade	Year	Rank
Consequence of Sound	Top 50 Albums of 2016	2016	32[11]
Rough Trade	Albums of the Year	2016	57[12]

Track listing

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Wilderness"	4:36
2.	"The Ecstatics"	3:12
3.	"Tangle Formations"	5:34
4.	"Logic of a Dream"	6:37
5.	"Disintegration Anxiety"	4:11
6.	"Losing the Light"	6:02
7.	"Infinite Orbit"	2:37
8.	"Colors in Space"	7:14
9.	"Landing Cliffs"	6:17
Total length:		46:20

Charts

Chart (2016)	Peak position
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[13]	33
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[14]	61
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[15]	98
Irish Albums (IRMA)[16]	77
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[17]	93
UK Albums (OCC)[18]	39
US Billboard 200[19]	24

Album art

Guitarist Mark Smith spoke to VICE News' The Creators Project about the experience of looking for artwork for The Wilderness, stating that the band was immediately drawn to the abstract geometric wildness expressed in Chicago-based artist Jacob van Loon's work. In van Loon's creations, Explosions in the Sky found all of the components they envisioned for the album, "terror, a beauty, a structure, an abstraction, a wildness."

Jacob van Loon created this piece, titled 8th & Main, specifically for The Wilderness. According to Mark Smith, "We sent him the songs as soon as we came out of the studio. We exchanged a few emails, a few thoughts about colors and themes, a few descriptions, but his resulting artwork was largely a surprise to us. It came as a finished piece and we were blown away." Jacob van Loon was deeply inspired by this album, creating a visual representation of what Explosions in the Sky wanted to evoke. The composition was created from layered sketches of geometric patterns covered with primer, which leaves embossed brush strokes on the canvas, forming crevices for the ensuing watercolor paint to flow through. Jacob describes this process in poetic detail, "When I'm ready for color, it's not just about pragmatically filling in the spaces, it's about putting paint down, letting it travel in the valleys and ridges, and seeing where and how it all comes to rest."

Explosions in the Sky's The Wilderness has an element of structure with relative simplicity through symphonic instrumentals and no vocals, but exposes a sense of greater chaos through, "a sense of somber apprehension and drift, of possibility coming into focus or perhaps losing it, or both at once." From Jacob van Loon's visual interpretation of the album, it is clear that Explosions in the Sky created an imaginative and translatable composition.

References

1. "'The Wilderness' - PREORDER | Explosions In The Sky official storefront powered by Merchline". Explosionsinthesky.merchline.com. Retrieved 2016-02-10.
2. "The Wilderness by Explosions In the Sky on iTunes". Itunes.apple.com. Retrieved 2016-02-10.
3. "Reviews for The Wilderness by Explosions in the Sky". Metacritic. Retrieved 2016-05-11.
4. Paul Simpson (2016-04-01). "The Wilderness - Explosions in the Sky | Songs, Reviews, Credits". AllMusic. Retrieved 2016-05-11.
5. Young, Alex (2016-03-30). "Explosions in the Sky – The Wilderness | Album Reviews". Consequence of Sound. Retrieved 2016-05-11.
6. Dave Simpson. "Explosions in the Sky: The Wilderness CD review – beautifully understated epic | Music". The Guardian. Retrieved 2016-05-11.
7. Brandon Stosuy (2016-03-28). "Explosions in the Sky: The Wilderness Album Review". Pitchfork. Retrieved 2016-05-11.
8. "Q Magazine | Music news & reviews, music videos, band pictures & interviewsQ Magazine". Qthemusic.com. Retrieved 2016-05-11.
9. "The Wilderness by Explosions in the Sky | Album Review". The Line Of Best Fit. Retrieved 2016-05-11.
10. http://thecreatorsproject.vice.com/blog/explosions-in-the-sky-wilderness-art-premiere
11. "Top 50 Albums of 2016". Consequence of Sound. November 28, 2016. Retrieved November 28, 2016.
12. "Albums of the Year". Rough Trade. November 14, 2016. Retrieved November 15, 2016.
13. "Ultratop.be – Explosions in the Sky – The Wilderness" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved April 8, 2016.
14. "Ultratop.be – Explosions in the Sky – The Wilderness" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved April 8, 2016.
15. "Offiziellecharts.de – Explosions in the Sky – The Wilderness" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved April 8, 2016.
16. "GFK Chart-Track Albums: Week 14, 2016". Chart-Track. IRMA. Retrieved April 8, 2016.
17. "Swisscharts.com – Explosions in the Sky – The Wilderness". Hung Medien. Retrieved April 13, 2016.
18. "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved April 9, 2016.
19. "Explosions in the Sky – Chart history" Billboard 200 for Explosions in the Sky. Retrieved April 12, 2016.

^[1]

^[2]

1. Dolan, Jon (April 13, 2016). "Explosions in the Sky 'The Wilderness' Album Review". Explosions in the Sky: The Wilderness. Rolling Stone. Retrieved 2016-10-01.
2. Pangburn, DJ (February 17, 2016). "Making the Art of Explosions in the Sky's 'The Wilderness' [Premiere] | The Creators Project". Making the Art of Explosions in the Sky's "The Wilderness" [Premiere]. VICE. Retrieved 2016-10-01.