G_d’s Pee AT STATE’S END!. Godspeed You! Black Emperor

Closing in on quarter century of releasing records, Godspeed You! Black Emperor has become a veteran band. At the same time you will have a hard time finding the band on these pages, let alone the preceding magazine. Reading the reviews over the past decades I stayed away from the band. It sounded like this was not music for me and the only music I did hear, to my great surprise, in an edition of the Concertzender radioshow Kairos, not too long ago, only underscored my presumptions. This music is not for me.

Recently I was send a link to the upcoming new album and decided to give a try in the expectation for the listening session to last for at best two minutes. It did not. I made it to the end of G_d’s Pee AT STATE’S END! and even listened to it once more. It may well be that fans of old are terribly disappointed or over excited with the album. I have no way of telling. Fact is that it got to me.

Godspeed You! Black Emperor is called a postrock band. Why that term exist, I don't know. It has to do with long, complex, instrumental pieces of music. What makes that postrock? The opening song 'A Military Alphabet (five eyes all blind)' certainly contains heavy rocking elements of the progrock kind. I have no trouble at all imagining someone like Fish starting to holler about 'Kayleigh' or something waving a white flag. 'A Military Alphabet (five eyes all blind)' is a monumental song. New elements keep being added and I'm not very knowledgeable in classical music, but this is the way a symphony works, right? Add a little extra motive all the time and making them come together in harmonious ways? Well, this is happening here alright. The band cooks up a storm and gets what it wanted after sowing loads of wind. In that it is not different from Pink Floyd's 'Shine On You Crazy Diamond', Soup's 'Going Nowhere/Boy And The Snow' or any long composition by Motorpsycho. 'A Military Alphabet (five eyes all blind)' entertains for 20 and a half minute. I am surprised, I am taken over.

Promo photo

So, what was I so afraid of? A good question that I can't answer any more. I have expanded my musical mind once again.It goes to show that no matter what somebody else writes about anything, an open mind remains a prerequisite for development and expansion of experiences. Only afterwards opinions are warranted.

G_d’s Pee AT STATE’S END! continues in this way. Whether by more atmospheric repetitive music or more straightforward, the whole is impressive. The band has no singer and although that usually stops me from listening longer, it doesn't here. I find it extremely interesting to follow the nuances in the compositions, to notice the changes and additions and find out where it brings the band and my listening experience. Overseeing it all where I am after a few listening sessions, I can only conclude: impressive record! It's like a thunderstorm at the rainbow's end. The point where all hope is lost, except the hope offered by music. There you go.

Wout de Natris

You can listen and buy G_d’s Pee AT STATE’S END! here:

https://godspeedyoublackemperor.bandcamp.com/album/g-d-s-pee-at-state-s-end

or listen to our Spotify Playlist to find out what we are writing about:

https://open.spotify.com/user/glazu53/playlist/6R9FgPd2btrMuMaIrYeCh6?si=KI6LzLaAS5K-wsez5oSO2g