GODSPEED YOU! BLACK EMPEROR

G_d’s Pee At State’s End! CONSTELLATION

Anarcho-punk orch-prog collective return with soundtrack for our times.

As Godspeed You! Black Emperor reflect in the communiqué that accompanies their latest album, the world has finally caught up with them in 2021, their shortwave radios full of “apocalypse pastors… yelling END TIMES NOW”. The Canadians’ seventh album is less formally melodic than 2017’s Luciferian Towers and less nakedly aggressive than 2015’s Asunder…, harking back to the eerie chamber rock of their earlier releases.

GY!BE often feel like they’re building some intuitive sonic monument. The long-form composition that begins with A Military Alphabet emerges from the alien transmissions of a numbers station: a guitar blurts out a motif like a wounded foghorn, a decaying drone leads into a nervy Morse Code riff, a shuffle on the drums maintains the tension as layer upon layer of sound is gradually added. GOVERNMENT CAME is the other big track here, gloomy bass notes and shivering violin creating a horrorshow atmosphere, tempered by a Morriconeesque swagger and grandeur. There’s a descent into a slough of despond before the guitars rally, leading into a rousing, processional climax that will delight veteran fans in particular.