The Silent Ballet
Formed in Autumn 2005, From The Sky is one of a number of bands (Yndi Halda being another notable example) who exploited the popularity of Myspace to their advantage, enabling their music to reach a much greater audience than it would have otherwise. With the release of their demo EP, It Fell..., on the Lost Children Netlabel and tracks being readily available on their Myspace, From The Sky soon built up a sizeable fanbase. By the band's own admission, It Fell... - a tremolo-laden, upbeat-sounding 3 track EP - drew heavily on their influences, such as Explosions in the Sky, Mogwai, Mono and 65daysofstatic. However, with their new EP, they have shown signs of carving out their own identity.

From the Sky recently declared that they'd "had enough of being an instrumental band and have become a Screamo band with heavy bits, technical bits, and breakdowns but with a twist of melodic vocals." Fortunately, this demonstrates an ability to take themselves less seriously than many of their instrumental counterparts rather than an actuality, but the truth of the matter is, the new EP represents a marked shift in direction musically. A somehow more mature sound is apparent - remarkable, given that two band members are still teenagers - with considerably darker overtones and a heavier edge. Whereas the major key predominated in It Fell..., the new album relies heavily on the use of the minor key. The tried-and-tested line-up of two guitars, bass and drums has also been livened up with addition of glockenspiel and keyboards. As with the demo, they base their songs on cadence repetition rather than intricate guitar solos, with the use of the tremolo still playing a vital part in their music.

The new sound is evident from the opening bars of the first track on the EP, ‘Electric Snow,’ with a moody keyboard-led intro giving way to the combined guitars of Daniel King and James Morris, reaching a climax barely two minutes into the song. In the second song ‘When the Sun Sets the Clouds On Fire’ simple strains are processed using a variety of effects pedals, the distortion yielding to glockenspiel and guitars synchronising in perfect harmony. ‘Position of the Stars’ is an extensively reworked version of the track which appeared in It Fell.... As befitting the name of the band and song, it has an almost celestial feel to it - as with Mono's ‘Moonlight’, layer upon layer of exquisite guitar melodies are laid down until the crescendo reaches an acme, with ethereal airs emerging once more for the outro. ‘There Are Ghosts In The Glass’ is perhaps the weakest song on the EP - although this reflects the high caliber of the rest of the CD rather than a criticism of the track itself.

However, final song ‘Someone To Remember’ is the highlight of the album, an epic track lasting almost 14 minutes. If From the Sky were looking for a crowd-pleasing live show encore to rival Mogwai's ‘Mogwai Fear Satan’ or Explosions in the Sky's ‘Memorial’ then this is surely it. It is also taken from their demo EP and is immediately recognizable as such. Starting in a manner not dissimilar to ‘Position Of The Stars,’ it takes a tantalizingly convoluted route to the 'loud part' (think ‘Wedding Rings and Bullets in the Same Golden Shrine’ by Sickoakes), the emphasis being adeptly changed from guitar to keyboard. The ensuing wall of white noise soon surrenders to the delicate tinklings of a piano, resulting in sheer bliss.

If one fault - and this is a very minor fault - could be found with this EP, it would relate to the lack of variety in the songs, with each of the five tracks following the 'traditional' post-rock quiet-loud formula. So saying, it is hard to be overly critical when the music is this good! Perhaps From the Sky named themselves as an homage to their idols Explosions in the Sky; however, with this new EP, their have emerged from the shadow of the Texan foursome and proved themselves more than capable in their own right. Expect great things from this young band.

SonicFrontiers
Hailing from London, England, the four-piece instrumental group known as From the Sky hit the scene with a running start in December of last year. Their first full album, Like Crystal in a World of Glass, although clocking in at just over 30 minutes, is a captivating listening experience packed with energy and emotion. Following closely in the vein of traditional post-rock acts such as Explosions in the Sky, the band uses all of the classic elements of the genre, skillfully delivering tranquil atmospheres, intense climaxes, and soothing melodies that grace each of the album’s five tracks.

Some of the most enjoyable qualities of From the Sky’s music are its simplicity and the ease with which listeners can enjoy it. Many modern instrumental groups often delve too deeply in extremes, dragging out basic melodies for far too long and erupting in overwhelming crescendos that can completely kill the mood. The beauty of Like Crystal in a World of Glass, however, is that everything seems just about right. This is certainly no mono-tone album by any means, though. Each segment of music and each mood evoked by it seems to come at just the right time and with just the right amount of effort—a quality marked by true artistic vision and often absent in today’s instrumental scene.

Although this album is a fantastic example of subtle, passionate instrumental rock, listeners must also remember to take it for simply what it is and nothing more. Instrumental enthusiasts seeking a cutting-edge, out-of-this-world album of innovation and experimentation might want to skip this album or simply re-adjust their expectations. Point being, From the Sky do not bring anything new to the instrumental, “post-rock” table in this release, and they quite possibly didn’t intend to either. The real value of Like Crystal in a World of Glass can be seen in its modest yet masterful technique which is only truly observable by the ear. The band seems to gather all of the often un-focused methods of those before them and creates something much clearer and much more deliberate. Although created by a relatively unknown group of musicians, this album serves as one of the freshest examples of what instrumental rock music should really be like—soothing, uplifting, and above all, thought-provoking.