Audio CD review:
Godspeed You Black Emperor - Yanqui U.X.O.

Godspeed You Black Emperor - Yanqui U.X.O.

Band: Godspeed You Black Emperor Title: Yanqui U.X.O. Rating: Release Date: 2002-10-28 Media: Audio CD Tracks:

Unfairly Criticised I believe that while "Lift Your Skinny. This album seems to get the most criticism out of all GY!BE releases, mostly due to the lack of samples (there is in fact, no samples in "Yanqui"), and some songs not building to climaxes. . . " is GY!BE's best, and possibly post-rock's best album, "Yanqui U. X. O" is a fantastic piece of work and my second favourite from the band. Personally I found a lot of the samples rather grating on other releases, especially the samples AFTER climaxes, which seemed completely pointless to me as it just draws out the song. And the argument that this album doesn't have enough climaxes seems a little unfair. There are five tracks on the album, and really only one, "09-15-00 Part 2" lacks a climax, and serves as a 6-minute after-thought to the opening part of the song. I don't see much wrong with this, as the opening song has two HUGE climaxes that are as powerful as anything GY!BE has created in the past. This album also contains one of my favourite GY!BE songs to date, the sprawling "Rocket Fall On Rocket Falls", which starts with a swirling, often trippy section, then giving way to minimalist timpani playing, and then builds to the peak climax of the album. This song is simply stunning and will please any fan of the band and genre. The two-part "Motherf****r = Redeemer" song is a little different from the rest of the album, and the usual GY!BE structure, in that it opens with quite a lot of instrumentation, setting aside the extreme quiet/build/very loud structure. While this is the weakest part of the album, it is still excellent when put into context with other post-rock bands, but not quite up the standards of the rest of this album. My big point is that I think this album is unfairly treated. It has everything I was looking for in a GY!BE album, and I would go as far to say it includes some of their best work to date. . Can this band do anything wrong? The immediate reaction is to question the sound of this record - what has previously sounded so 'on edge' and likely to split your skull open at any moment almost seems muted and flat at first listen. Being a huge fan of this bands previous work, it came as something as a shock listening to Yanqui UXO for the first time. Musically, you won't be dissapointed though. GYBE! still prefer the epic, and throughout the 75 odd minutes, this album switches between despair and hope in some genuinely moving moments. Gone are the field recordings and long ambient stretches, in favour of a more structured and consistent approach. Some nice new guitar effects surface in several movements too. 'Rockets Fall. . ' in particular seems like a bold step into new territory for the group in terms of sound and structure. Fantastic! After a few listens though, the flatness percieved at first seems to dissapear and the record opens out and reveals layer after layer of beauty. Yes, it's a somewhat different approach than previous work, but still: this is some of the greatest music you are going to hear this year. Don't be too quick to judge and you will be rewarded. . . Now if only we could get Godspeed to tour Australia. Their best work to date (not a dissapointment) five stars because no matter what anyone else says i still think this album is epic. i listened to this by myself in the dark with headphones on and had a really enjoyable experience. disappointment i'm a big fan of godspeed's work, but even i can't pretend to like this one. the sound quality just sounds hideously wrong, and the music seems to be re-treading old ground. i only gave it 3 stars cause im in denial. check out lift yr skinny fists or slow riot instead, and if youre an old godspeed fan, although this probably wont stop you anyway, at least hear it before you spend your cash. Godspeed You! Black Emperor Continues to Amaze But, if they stay too much the same, wouldn't it get old? Probably (Well, I don't know. Godspeed You! Black Emperor is a type of band, at least for me, that if they changed too much, they wouldn't be the same, and I would dislike them for that. . . they are really good!). But, what they manage to do on this album is make slight changes from their previous material, but still keep the same feel, which combines to make an excellent, excellent album. The last song, especially, demonstrates change for them, specifically the way the song begins. You'll understand once you've heard it. I put the highest expectations on this album-- how could I not? I'm a too big a of GYBE fan, I guess--but, I was not disappointed at all. I was kind of expecting a Skinny Fists repeat (Which, I guess wouldn't have been bad at all), but I got something different. Something different that's a musical listening experience and easily the best album so far this year. This is a must have for GYBE fans, and a must-to-hear for music lovers. You can see a complete list of all Godspeed You Black Emperor discography, or go back to the Godspeed You Black Emperor tabs