Godspeed You! Black Emperor, Yanqui U.X.O. (Constellation) 9+
Once deemed as the most powerful live band on the planet, Godspeed You! Black Emperor has much to live up to with their third full-length album. And like Sigur Rós, it's hard to say for sure if those expectations were met or not, or surpassed. At 75 minutes and no distractions like tape loops, it's certainly a long, intense ride. It's by far a more difficult listening experience than any previous GY!BE album. Engineered by Steve Albini, it sounds like he encouraged clarity if not brevity. Whereas their music is generally quite dramatic, the changes on Yanqui U.X.O> don't happen as much as they evolve, glacially, like plate tectonics only slightly quicker. The sixteen-and-a-half minute "09-15-00" starts out in familiar territory, achieving a noticeable buildup and climax of chords and quickened rhythms. The second, shorter part is all freefall afterglow. It's as if it can only be appreciated if you meditate and slow your pulse down to the pace of the song. If you manage it without passing out, the reward might be akin to catching a comet on video and getting to watch it in slo-mo. "Rockets Fall on Rocket Falls" has a plucking guitar that borrows fairly obviously from a Beethoven fugue, which is eventually obscured by strings and cacophonous noise, fading into a classical woodwind interlude and another slightly less noisy, orchestral reprise. After that slightly confounding twenty-minute piece, the heart and soul of GY!BE finally gel in "motherfucker=redeemer." Like the best moments on Sigur Rós' ( ), we're taken to church in a grandiloquent display of energy, from furiously sawing strings to dazzlingly swirling, interlacing guitars. The beautiful moment ends all too soon, though the ten-minute aftermath is sufficiently engaging to retain the rush. The second part feels less necessary, though it manages to reach one more decent climax. This high-tension music is not recommended as background music, so it might be difficult to take the time to absorb it and appreciate it at an appropriately loud volume. Hard core devotees who invest the time should be pleased. Everyone else should refer to earlier albums. Given the band's lack of lyrics, it seems their political agenda is fairly irrelevant, though the illustrated sleevenotes are fairly interesting. Amidst arrows connecting the major media conglomerates to giant arms-dealing corporations, it explains that U.X.O. is an unexploded ordinance, and that Yanqui represents the multinational corporate oligarchy/post-colonial-imperialist-police state. Cool.
