G_d's Pee AT STATES END! - Godspeed You! Black Emperor - Review
Godspeed You! Black Emperor
are a Canadian post-rock band that has become synonymous with critical acclaim within the genre. After releasing a series of 4 massively acclaimed projects in the late 90's and early 2000's they went on hiatus and returned in 2012. G_d's Pee is the bands 4th album since returning and while they haven't been as critically successful on average since then there have been plenty of fan favorite moments across their discography in that time span.
Review By Lav:
Man I love this band. Their 2000 masterpiece Lift Your Skinny Fists Like Tiny Antennas To Heaven is one of my favorite albums of all time but there are plenty of other worthwhile pieces of their discography. 1997's F#A#Infinity is a dark, encapsulating experience and the bands return in 2012, 'Allelujah! Don't Bend! Ascend! made my favorite albums of the 2010's list last year. Even though their recent output hasn't been quite as grand and unforgettable there are still some remarkable tracks to be found, Peasantry Or 'Light! Inside Of Light!' and Undoing A Luciferian Tower being particular highlights. After reading the description for this record and looking at the arrangement of its tracks I was really excited for the potential return to what made the band so remarkable in the first place, and in large part it totally has. While the guitar tones and compositional arrangements will definitely feel familiar to longtime fans of the band the return feels far more triumphant than derivative.
The opening track is a 20 minute doozy, whose title I will only type out in its entirely once, Military Alphabet (five eyes all blind) [4521.0kHz 6730.0kHz 4109.09kHz]/Job's Lament/First Of The Last Glaciers/where we break how we shine (ROCKETS FOR MARY). With that mouthful out of the way lets jump into what makes this track such an impressive opener. It features an eerie introduction with blurry, heavily distorted sounds littering the mix. It features what may be human vocals and synth notes but both are warped and stretched to complete unrecognizability. The first tangible sound to break the haze is a wiry guitar riff which erupts out of the confusion which feels so clear compared to the background despite being obscured in its own right. The transition into the next passage starts when the dense layers of background noise drop out almost entirely leaving the guitar chords and feedback the only thing in the mix. It quickly gets enveloped into a sea of guitars with a totally crushing riff that dominates everything with short slides of cutting electric guitar popping in and out of the mix. Once the booming drums emerge the song begins its crescendo and gets attention grabbing very quickly as the steady climb is backed by wiry guitar soloing. The crashing cymbals and increasingly forward mix give the song the ability to somehow keep elevating higher and higher making for a classically post-rock triumphant conclusion.
The second half of the track gets started around the 12 and a half minute point and doesn't waste any time with introductions as it gets right into an even more compositionally expansive section kept in line by driving guitar lines with tons of instrumental variety surrounding that core function. This section finally relaxes with an almost angelic layer of guitar work that acts as a sort of beautiful come down for the riveting passage that preceded it. Finally the end of the song features a soft field recording style backing of nature sounds which is unsettlingly interrupted by an unpredictable distant pounding that ultimately guides the song into a complete silence and conclusion.
The second track on the record is a shorter composition that we will get back to but first is the third track, a slightly shorter but even more impactful piece entitled, "GOVERNMENT CAME" (9980.0kHz 3617.1kHz 4521.0kHz)/Cliffs Gaze/cliffs' gaze at empty waters' rise/ASHES TO SEA or NEARER TO THEE. It gets started with an obscured sample but the messaging is very clear with the riotous nature o the crowd being very easy to make out. This is eventually overtaken by a huge echoing that completely envelops all the space around the song until some electric guitar and jangle percussion is rushed in. The arrangement of the instrumentation is very chaotic and almost improvised as the layers all feel like they're working independently and it only gets messier as more layers flood in. Strangely enough it starts to feel more composed with the rise of what I think is electric violin soaring over the mix and guiding the guitars in and out of their individual phrases. The transitional moment at the heart of the song is a surprisingly quick fade out into a dusty spacious atmosphere that feels jarring in its efficiency converting the song to near silence. This leads into an extended ambient like passage of shrill but quiet strings fading in and out before the records distinctive guitar sounds return. Those same guitars eventually take center stage with rumbling percussion and sparkly chimes backing them until an incredibly triumphant riff takes over the foreground and sets a second crescendo in motion. The speedy ascending guitar lines almost feel chorus like and stand out from just about anything else on the record as the most unashamedly bright spot, that I would even dare to say sounds inspirational in tone. Thankfully there isn't even a hint of corniness to what the band is doing especially once the nostalgic string section emerges and the piece ends sounding like an explosive modernization of some of the most emotive stylings of classical music.
These two massive tracks may not have a ton of surprises for post-rock veterans but calling them "by the numbers" is diminishing how effectively they convey emotion. Much like the bands most classic material these sonic shifts and sways are extremely effective in their expression of feelings and sensations well beyond just the music being played. I'll also say that both passages an incredibly exciting from start to quiet finish and I find myself constantly in anticipation of the next crescendo or slick transitional dropout written with lethal brevity. The shorter tracks are where I was hoping the band would deliver something a little bit more unexpected, and they sort of achieve this.
Fire At Static Valley is bookended by the two larger songs but at just under 6 minutes is shoots for an epic sound of its own right out of the gate. The piece opens with the rumbling of a distant thunderstorm before starting into a driving composition with extremely distant percussion making for a persistent backing boom alongside eerie guitar work pushing the song ever forward. This time around the rise in sonic intensity comes mostly from a high pitched static hum that begins to enlace the track entirely and lasts all the way to its conclusion. I will say the song feels like it has ambitions beyond its runtime and I think the idea isn't quite fully explored. Despite that I think the track is a very worthwhile moment on the record and the better of the two shorter pieces.
The 6 and a half minute Our Side Has To Win (for D.H) is a meditative end to the record despite its provocative title. I wouldn't call the song blissful despite it often bordering on ambient in application because there are bellowing walls of sound that drag heavily across the bottom of the mix but there are also points where the string arrangements start to really take center stage and you can hear the individual performances much more clearly. These transitions between the blurry and suddenly incredibly vivid moments are certainly refreshing and serve as a soothing finale, but part of me can't help but feel like the song was designed this way to feel like a relief after the giant that preceded it, rather than making a statement all its own.
I definitely have some nitpicks about moments on this record but they are a drop in the bucket compared to the immensely enjoyable and wonderfully performed pieces that I thoroughly enjoy throughout the record. I think the band once again proves capable of writing remarkable crescendos but instead of the often apocalyptic sounds they dabbled in early in their career these tracks feel triumphant, almost hopeful at their highest peaks. The sensation is infectious just as the compositions are sonically rewarding and it leads to a 50 minute album that feels both righteously empowering and meaningfully engaged at the same time. While it wouldn't be fair to take the bands notes into consideration for this review I will definitely say that if you enjoy the record it is worth reading through what they wrote about its conception and execution to get even further context to its societal bearings and inspiration. Whether you're a long time fan of Godspeed, or a post-rock freshman there is a layer of this record that is easy to digest despite its length, but there's also so much nuance and detail underneath to keep me coming back again and again throughout 2021 and beyond. 9/10
Album Cover Review By Tyler Judson:
This cover is cute and simple. The design is minimal but the spiral draws your eye into the center. I wish there was more around it to fill the space so that it would create a pattern. The color is soft and uninteresting but keeps the feeling of simplicity. It could've bused something to push it further because it's just good, but it could have made a bigger impact. 5/10
For more post-rock check out my review of Mogwai's As The Love Continues here
