Godspeed You! Black Emperor

Recently Pitchfork pompously declared, as is their wont, that hearing the Arcade Fire for the first time was like discovering a new musical language. If that's the case, then discovering Godspeed You! Black Emperor is like discovering a new musical planet.

Like many others, I first heard of GYBE through Radiohead. Between OK Computer and Kid A, there was a strange internet rumor that GYBE would collaborate with Radiohead on a a 10-minute version of "How to Disappear Completely". While most hoaxes of this kind are to publicize crap bands, what I found on the "Slow Riot for New Zero Kanada" EP would alter my perception of what music could be.

Superficially labelled post-rock, this large ensemble from Montreal mix sprawling soundscapes with vocal samples from hysterical preachers and violent homeless people. The songs have structure, switching from quiet xylophone parts to the thundering sound of two drummers, yet they never feel contrived in the way a band like Mogwai can. The songs have dynamics, but never fall into the quiet/loud rut. A song like "Static" has blaring, heavily-distorted guitars one moment, a vaguely middle-Eastern string part and quiet plucking the next. There is no real "Godspeed" formula, and therein lies their charm.

The "Slow Riot" EP is a perfect place to start. First track "Moya" has the sort of slow build that's worth waiting around for, while second track "BBF3" is a perfect summation of the GYBE ethos. Then you can move on to debut album "f♯a♯∞", a portion of which was featured in the film "28 Days Later":

Later albums "Lift Your Skinny Fists Like Antennas To Heaven" and "Yanqui UXO" also have their moments, "Yanqui" if only because its artwork traces all of the major record companies to the military-industrial complex:

As a sampler, I've uploaded the rare track they recorded for John Peel, "Hung Over as the Queen in Maida Vale". Enjoy.

Listen to "Hung Over as the Queen in Maida Vale":

[Download the MP3 Here]

[Official Band Website]
[Wikipedia Entry]
[Download the Peel Session in Lossless Format]
[Download Concerts in Lossless Format]