GODSPEED YOU BLACK EMPEROR Schallplatten & CDs

Review: When announcing the release of their new album, G'D's Pee at State End - their first full-length missive since 2017's Luciferian Towers - Godspeed You Black Emperor attracted headlines by calling for the abolishment of prisons, police, imperialism and the rich. Given that statement - one that is totally in-keeping with their anarchic attitude and music - you'd expect the album to be angry and rage-filled, but it feels more poignant and melancholic, thanks in part to the long-serving band's use of strings throughout the four lengthy post-rock soundscapes that make up the album. Peppered with blasts of shortwave radio, and rising and falling melodic themes, it's a far more cinematic concoction than many may have expected - a kind of sighing, tear-soaked soundtrack to the end of days.

Review: The Canadian post-rock instrumentalists return with a demand for revolution, soundtracked by just shy of 45 minutes of orchestral aggression. As with all of their work, GY!BE convey their ideas articulately through evocative wordless music. The opener, 'Undoing a Luciferian Towers' sets a tone for the album with a monolithic and militaristic march. Passages of feedback open out into anthemic expanse on the three parts of 'Bosses Hang'. 'Fam/Famine' balances between harmonic assonance and dissonance, ramping up the tension before the final triptych 'Anthem Of The State' takes a more optimistic tone, with the movement away from noise providing some glimmers of light in the abyss. 'Luciferian Towers' is an impeccable and polished record, and possibly Godspeed You! Black Emperor's finest to date.