For any band or artist to go over a decade without making or releasing a music video is quite an impressive feat. In this day and age, it’s unheard of. Now it seems everyone has one, no matter how much weight they carry. Every so often though, something brilliant pops up – the video for Tyler the Creator’s “Yonkers” is a prime example.

On June 22nd, a music video that redefines the term was released. After twelve years without one, Explosions In The Sky satisfied our imaginations with the premiere of their mind-bending video for “Last Known Surroundings” on Wired. The track comes off of their first album in four years, Take Care, Take Care, Take Care, and it is nothing short of excellence.

MP3: Explosions In The Sky – “Last Known Surroundings”

 

The task of putting together a music video for EITS seems beyond daunting. Their songs tell incredible stories, taking the mind on epic journeys through ccanyons of emotion and feeling, tucked away in those lost corners of your memory. To create a visual counter-part to these epics seems close to an impossibility. Thankfully, the band paired up with some incredibly talented individuals on the visual arts front; David Hobizal, Sissy Emmons, and the good people at Ptarmak came up with a beautiful video that is truly a work of art.

A combination of animation and illustration, the work guides us through a different world in seamless collaboration with the profoundly elegant music. We are taken on a trip as we follow behind a people (in the form of polygons) as they leave their world behind in search of something better. The opening of the song screams out a longing for something more—a feeling all too familiar to most. As they travel through space, chords are brought to life as glistening stars that sparkle just as brightly as they sound. But, like all things of beauty, they are short lived, and merely pass by as the group pushes forward. Finally, they find it—a new home; a new beginning; a place to start from scratch. One with their new surroundings, the environment bursts to life. Scenes erupt that would tickle any imagination.

As the music takes us on a tour through its magical habitat, it doesn’t cease to evoke feelings of wonder and of lust for a place just as remarkable. But with the final chord change, the progression takes on a new tone; an ominous moodiness, as an attempt to prepare us for the inevitable. The cycle then completes, in a violent, unexpected fashion; a harsh reminder that all good things must come to an end. There is hope, however. The final pulsing notes suggest the chance for new life on the now barren world. It’s a blank canvas that is waiting to tell a story; the cycle starts again.

In the kind, and thoughtfully written, letter from the band to fans and listeners, they guarantee this is not the last, but the first of a few videos to be released over the next few months. This first one is quite the starting point. Get excited.