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OCTOBER 20th!

Discography Deep Dive: GY!BE

Part 3

Slow Riot for New Zero Kanada (1999)

Label: Constellation, Kranky

Producers: Dale Morningstar

Scores

Ranking: 7

Overall Average Score: 2.9

Mixing: 2.5

Pacing: 2.5

Track Ordering: 3

Orchestral/Textural variety: 1.5

Melodic  Ingenuity: 3

Aesthetic Consistency: 5

Stand-out track: Moya

Slow Riot for New Zero Kanada is a huge moment in the early discog of Godspeed. Its long two track arc ebbs and flows gorgeously as a sonic journey checking all the boxes of true Godspeed style: the long minimalistic crescendo built upon evolving and unfurling textures of strings, drums and guitars, with interspersions of “vox pop” field recordings (the extensive interview of Blaise Bailey Finnegan III being the central character). 

Throughout “Moya” (one of the stand-out tracks in Godspeed’s canon) we hear gorgeous melodic fragments germinate from the seeds of a twelve-note passacaglia. As this movement builds and transforms, the textures remain rather homogenous. While the pings of the glockenspiel are initially welcomed as a bright touch to the introduction of the twelve-note ostinato they become more awkward and out of place when the texture thickens, especially when they become tremolos. Despite this attempt of textural variety, what remains consistent is exemplary melodic ingenuity and symmetry that is consistent with Godspeed’s minimalistic approach to building textures. The twelve-note ostinato doesn’t show up in its complete form until 3'45" into the movement. Preceding this is a haunting seven-note motive introduced by the strings. As the twelve-note passacaglia proceeds several countermelodies spin out in a neo-baroque style finally give way to a five-note descent into the requisite field recording moment of “BBFIII”. Thus, a twelve-note passacaglia is symmetrically bookended by patterns of seven (at the beginning) and five (at the end): 7+5=12.

Although less poetic than other field recordings, “BBFIII” stands out as a dramatic documentarian style, undergirded by the deft touches of guitar harmonics with a melodramatic string tremolos and drum fills. The inevitable forces of the instruments take over to create a compelling climax of riff-like power chords and four-on-the-floor drumming. This would be a fantastic ending, yet the strings enter again in a coda-like fashion with washed-out reverb more in a neo-baroque style . This seems to be a blurred and all-too-short hazy memory of the opening moments of “Moya.” Although aesthetically consistent, this use of coda seems almost perfunctory when heard within the context of Godspeed’s innovative endings where entire movements act as dedicated codas. To round off the structure of this diptych, Slow Riot really needs to be a triptych. This would be consistent with the baroque style alluded to throughout (which are often in three parts) and proportional to what is asked of the listener in this sonic journey. The aesthetic and imaginative demands upon the listener in this EP is one of the main reasons why it is included in this discography deep dive. It is simply unfair to attach a diminutive EP label upon this transcendent record. 

Additional Listening

Symphony No. 3, Op.36: A Symphony of Sorrowful Songs, String Quartet no.2 “Quasi una fantasia" Henryk Górecki

Passacaglia in C minor (BWV 582) Johann Sebastian Bach

"Passacaglia” from Peter Grimes Benjamin Britten

wulfsbaiine:

If you enjoy female-fronted Rock and Metal…

I was having a conversation with some of my friends about women in alt music and realized many of them weren’t exposed to the wealth of women’s contributions to these genres, so I made these. In no way are these playlists comprehensive and they will continually be added to, but they are what I generally listen to and orbit around by subgenre. Recommendations are welcome if there’s something you’d think I like and could be added! As of right now, there are four categories.

Punk, Alt, and Indie Rock covers the bases of the named categories without stepping into metal. Expect unpolished vocals, upbeat tempos, personal and political lyrics, and experimental sounds. Some of the artists on this playlist are…

The Gits, The Distillers, Hole, Joan Jett, Courtney Barnett, Screaming Females, Sleater-Kinney, and others.

Alternative, Progressive, and Symphonic brings us into the metal category. Expect more focus on singing over screaming, aspects of other genres, instrumental focus, with romantic and gothic overtones. On here…

Oceans of Slumber, Within Temptation, Evanescence, Reliqa, In This Moment, Lacuna Coil, Nightwish, and others.

Hardcore and Metalcore is full-throttle metal. Expect very heavy vocals, unrelenting drums and guitar, enraged and violent lyrics, and breakdowns. You’ll see…

Otep, Once Human, Jinjer, Butcher Babies, Dying Wish, Sharptooth, Spiritbox, The Agonist, Infected Rain, and others.

Black metal, Doom, and Dark Atmospheric is simultaneously heavy and ethereal. Expect a musical storm and dirge-like intonations and wails, broken up by moments of calm beauty and trance-inducing atmosphere. I felt dark atmospheric deserved to be here due to how metal-adjacent and well blending it is. Some of the artists here are…

Myrkur, Asagraum, Sylvaine, King Woman, Frayle, Darkher, Chelsea Wolfe, Black Table, and others.

All musicians on these playlists are female-fronted and sometimes entirely female/single artist acts. Rock on freaky women🤘😎

Discography Deep Dive: GY!BE

Part 2

Yanqui U.X.O. (2002)

Label: Constellation

Producer: Steve Albini

Scores

Ranking: 8

Overall Score: 2.8

Mixing: 2

Pacing: 2.5

Track Ordering: 3.5

Orchestral/Textural variety: 2

Melodic Ingenuity: 2.75

Aesthetic Consistency: 4

Standout track: “Rockets Fall on Rocket Falls” (especially the first 6 mins)

Yanqui (or “yankee”) U.X.O. (“unexploded ordinance”) is the bookend to Godspeed’s inexplicable early-career run as the most exemplary avant-garde post-rockists. Not only would it be their last record before a ten-year hiatus (critically-acclaimed ‘Alleluia, Don’t Bend, Ascend released in 2012), but it also marks a precarious foray into a more complex instrumental world that ultimately collapses from its own weight. Granted, Yanqui does hold true to the Godspeed aesthetic: Abstracted meta-narrative which meanders through the hyper-realist landscapes of neo-liberal and fascistic abjection while “infinitely yearning” (see E.T.A. Hoffman's  Beethoven’s Instrumental Music) for some sort of hope and justice. 

Yet, compared to other records in the Godspeed discog, the necessary musical and technical prowess needed to meet such aesthetic standards collapses on itself. Most telling is the juxtaposition of the grungy and raw rock sounds with the pure and spare sounds of orchestral instruments. The wailing guitars and snarling drums, in isolation, exemplify GY!BE at its finest, especially in the first 5 minutes of “Rockets Fall on Rocket Falls” (the standout track of the record). Yet, when the acoustic instruments enter on their own, the contrast is jarring. I can understand the band pulling away from the avant-garde poetics of using field recordings and a smaller ensemble and moving into something more akin to a classical chamber orchestra. However, it doesn’t quite land. 

What one hears throughout is almost two simultaneous records. One record that masterfully highlights the band’s preternatural sense of “epic-ness” as heard from the swells of guitars, soaring strings and waves of crashing drums; while the other record mistakes the anemic and sparse textures of the acoustic instruments (clarinets, trumpets, strings) for something lyrical and sweet. It does make me wonder that bringing superstar producer, Steve Albini to the project is what ultimately led to this momentary lapse in the musicality of Godspeed’s canon. If there was more care taken for the rehearsing, recording, and mixing of the acoustic instruments into the epic ocean of the whole album, Yanqui would easily be near the top of my rankings. 

Discography Deep Dive: GY!BE

Part 1: Introduction

In their nearly 30 year history, Godspeed You! Black Emperor’s contribution to the experimental/post-rock genre is nothing short of canon. The long sprawling tracks of gritty drones, anthemic oceans of guitars, soft touches of strings, poetic incorporation of field recordings all undergird moments of transcendent melancholy and even…hope.

In this first of what I hope to be an ongoing writing project called Discography Deep Dive, I explore the sonic and aesthetic world of these not-so-quiet Canadians. After listening to each record at least twice I came up with a rubric of sorts that places how each album fits within the overall canon of the 8 records I discuss. The criteria I use are specific to what I find to be specific to this band’s particular compositional and orchestrational techniques.

Rubric

On a scale from 1-5 I use the following criteria with prompts I think about when looking through each lens: -

Mixing: How well is sonic balance achieved between the foreground, middle ground, and background textures? How well is the balance achieved between the different instruments (this is especially true when string or brass instruments are involved)? In such tracks that have field recordings; I ask how well are they incorporated into the overall mix.

Pacing: How does the pacing of ideas occur within each track? I’m especially listening for how the repetitive layers build to climactic points and/or when the remains static without much movement toward climactic moments. Is there a perceived consistent internal logic behind transitions between and ideas? Is there a balance between repetition, contrast, variation, and transformation.

Track ordering: This has to do more with narrative structure. All GY!BE heads will know right away, that what makes their work so engrossing is the compelling ways in which they move from one track to another. I ask if the track ordering is well-balanced, or in cases where there seems to be unbalance, are there sonic/artistic reasons why this happens? In a way, how do they play within their own meta-narrative of long-form developments through repetition -

Orchestration and texture: This component easily blurs with the mixing element. However, I am curious how each album manages to gain variety AND uniformity of texture. A balancing act that is required by the very sonic universe they inhabit.

Melodic ingenuity: This one came to me late in my assessment. But, as I’ve listened to each record now a few times, I’ve come to realize that there is A LOT more melodic/riff-like material than is heard on first listens.

Aesthetic consistency: There is no denying that GY!BE is its own aesthetic/vibe. From the downbeat of nearly every track, those who traverse in the post-rock world know straightaway: THIS IS GODSPEED!! However, each album All of these criteria seem to encapsulate the musical world of GY!BE. I am not comparing each album to broader musical genres, but rather how they hold up within the album itself and inside the complete discography.

Based on this rubric, here are the rankings:

1. Allelujah! Don’t Bend! Ascend! (2012)

2. G_d’s Pee at State’s End (2021)

3. Luciferian Towers (2017)

4. Asunder, Sweet and Other Distress (2015)

5. Lift Your Skinny Fists Like Antennas to Heaven (2000)

6. F#A#♾️ (1997)

7. Slow Riot for New Zero Kanada (1998)

8. Yanqui U.X.O. (2002)

A little reminder that Maribo’s second EP has been out for a few months now. Please head over to Bandcamp to listen and purchase.

https://soundcloud.app.goo.gl/Ki8kmFmmx3rqin31A