Unlike Explosions in the Sky’s previous three studio efforts, its latest album, All of a Sudden I Miss Everyone, collapses under the weight of lengthy, boring and unoriginal tracks.

All of a Sudden I Miss Everyone sounds as if The Postal Service were collectively sedated and thrust into a studio without the use of voice microphones. While that might sound like an intriguing endeavor, this album is far less engaging than you may think.

The main problem with All of a Sudden I Miss Everyone is the same problem that plagues all of Explosions in the Sky’s albums: It’s hard to figure exactly what the listener is supposed to do with it. It’s mellow, so you can’t really dance to it. It’s instrumental, and therefore wordless, so you can’t sing along to it, unless you have an incredible desire to sing the individual guitar and bass notes (but please don’t).

And driving to this kind of music would be hazardous to both the listener and the people in surrounding vehicles, as it is certainly sleep inducing. In fact, the only thing this music really lends itself to is a film score, as evidenced by the excellent use of Explosions’ music in the 2004 film Friday Night Lights, in which the band’s emotional instrumentation added enormous depth to the film’s images.

Instead of lyrics, Explosions opts for a supremely emo title in All of a Sudden I Miss Everyone and follows it up with six song titles that just ooze angst: “The Birth and Death of the Day,” “Welcome, Ghosts,” “It’s Natural to Be Afraid,” “What Do You Go Home To?,” “Catastrophe and the Cure” and “So Long, Lonesome.” One can only assume these titles are meant to tell a story, though determining exactly it is supposed to be would take some excellent detective work.

The album is an excellent showpiece for the guitar talents of Munaf Rayani, Mark Smith and Michael James (who also plays bass) and the drum talents of Chris Hrasky. While all these musicians are skilled, this skill easily falls by the wayside as all six songs on this album (no, that is not a typo, the entire album is six songs) blend into one boring 45-minute track. The songs proceed through various crescendos and lulls in a very humdrum manner, with each track fading into the next.

All negatives aside, the best track on the album is also the shortest – the album’s closer, “So Long, Lonesome.” This song adds piano to the guitar and drum concoction, creating a beautiful track that wraps up tidily in lieu of stretching on for eternity, as the other five tracks do. This track is the one most similar to Explosions’ popular previous work, and, while it is much shorter than a typical Explosions track, “Lonesome” packs a neat emotional punch unrivaled on this album, even by the near-14-minute “It’s Natural to Be Afraid.”

Overall, All of a Sudden I Miss Everyone is weighed down by its attempt to be emotional and grandiose. While Explosions’ band members possess individual talents, their combined efforts meld into a series of boring and unoriginal tracks that leave the listener wondering just what they’re trying to say.

Explosions in the Sky will be playing an already sold-out show at the 9:30 Club on March 17.

Contact reporter Tripp Laino at tripp@umd.edu.