Metascore
86

Universal acclaim - based on 17 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 16 out of 17
  2. Negative: 0 out of 17
  1. The tones and the story told -- wordlessly throughout -- are exquisite.
  2. The feeling I'm left with, after 'Your Hand In Mine' ebbs away, is that I may never need another instrumental album like this again. The Earth Is Not A Cold Dead Place has already provided what may be the ideal version. And for that, it is absolutely essential.
  3. Entertainment Weekly
    91
    It seems like ideal film-soundtrack music, except that its gargantuan beauty would probably overwhelm any image you'd match it to. [Listen 2 This supplement, Dec 2003, p.18]
  4. There’s enough continental plate-shifting histrionics to keep any unsatisfied Godspeed! fans amused.
  5. Explosions in the Sky doesn't shift as suddenly or jarringly on Earth Is Not a Cold Dead Place; the quartet has applied more structural predictability this time out, but is still quick about setting the sad butterflies in your stomach to fluttering.
  6. With some guitar plucks and stuttering drums, the group is able to be more emotionally resonant and inspired than most other bands’ yelping front men can.
  7. These are tunes that twinkle and thunder like exploding stars, and show that there are still infinite possibilities in two guitars, bass and drums.
  8. Explosions In The Sky are the only instrumental post-rock band that matters, and The Earth Is Not A Cold Dead Place is proof.
  9. Uncut
    90
    A formidable demonstration of what can still be done with guitars. [Jan 2004, p.114]
  10. There are a lot of groups out there doing this sort of music, but not very many doing it this well.
  11. Most of all, though, what we find ourselves thinking of when enjoying 'The Earth Is Not A Cold Dead Place' - and, rest assured, readers, it's an enjoyable experience right the way through - is the magical spangliness that elevated the Cocteau Twins from absolutely all of their more ghettoised contemporaries way back when.
  12. Alternative Press
    80
    Seamless and sparkling. [Jan 2004, p.98]
  13. One of the most impressive aspects of The Earth Is Not a Cold Dead Place is that it feels constantly in flux, growing and transforming with every note.
  14. As beautiful as much of the album is, it all starts to blend together after a while.
  15. The buildup remains, but the payoff is fleeting and tentative when it's made at all – the songs do get big and loud, but there's always the hint of an ultimate impending boom which, in songs like "Six Days at the Bottom of the Ocean", never comes.
  16. Q Magazine
    70
    They don't quite escape the shadow of Godspeed You! Black Emperor or Mogwai, but there's something rather joyous about this unadorned rock dynamic. [Jan 2004, p.114]
  17. Blender
    40
    The quartet fills out the album by executing almost eactly the same formula [as the first track] four more times... and the dramatic shock wears off quickly. [Jan 2004, p.103]
User Score
8.7

Universal acclaim- based on 126 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Negative: 12 out of 126
  1. MikeC
    Jan 20, 2010
    10
    An incredible accomplishment, every song on the album is gold. It all just flows so perfectly.
  2. TraceyR
    Jan 10, 2007
    10
    Sublime
  3. ArmandT
    Sep 1, 2006
    9
    Like all post-rock albums, this album requires some patience. And all the songs employ the same compositional pormula. Get past that, Like all post-rock albums, this album requires some patience. And all the songs employ the same compositional pormula. Get past that, however, and prepare to be drawn into a 45-minute emotional trip. Full Review »