Godspeed You! Black Emperor! - 'Allelujah! Don't Bend! Ascend! (new album! 2012!)

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LemonMelon

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'Allelujah! Don't Bend! Ascend! is the fourth studio album by Canadian post-rock band Godspeed You! Black Emperor, released in 2012. After re-forming in 2010, the group went on tour and silently released the album at a concert in Boston on 1 October, 2012, with official release dates intended for 15 October in Europe and the 16th in other countries.

I'm listening to it right now; it's on Grooveshark.

Definitely sounds like Godspeed.

I definitely like it.
 
Should I go for this one, or Skinny Fists?

I think it's really cool there was no announcement, they just started selling it at shows.
 
Start at the beginning with F♯ A♯ ∞, preferably the 38 minute vinyl version, or the Slow Riot EP, just to see if you like what you're hearing. Skinny Fists is 90 minutes long and, while brilliant, not for everyone. At least see if you like their sound first before investing all that time.
 
Neither, listen to one of a dozen much better post-rock bands.

Fundamentally I agree with this, though I enjoy some of Godspeed's output. New album's surprisingly good actually, mainly because there isn't too much pointless farting around like on F♯ A♯ ∞, an album I find very boring. So I disagree with LM; if Cobbler's even going to be slightly interested, Skinny Fists or the new one would be much better starting places than F♯ A♯ ∞.

I see the reason why GY!BE took ten years between albums is so that they could replenish their exclamation mark supplies.
 
Godspeed is absolutely one of the premiere post-rock bands, mostly because they haven't released a clunker yet, and this new one sure isn't it.

Absolutely worth your time, Cobbs.

I really don't recommend Skinny Fists first though, unless you're positive that you can listen to post-rock for longer than an hour without zoning out. I would even recommend the new one over that. Plus, it's always nice to have something to build up to.
 
I still like them, i just think they're the most overrated band in post-rock. For whatever the reason, people flock to the "ZOMG, their songz r long!!!!!11!" thing. Certainly worth listening to if you like the genre, but probably one of the main reasons people who are casual fans find the genre boring or cheesy.

Regardless, looking forward to hearing the new album. Album cover reminds me of drives down old roads in Utah.
 
Sigur Ros and Godspeed killed post-rock and Explosions in the Sky nailed the coffin shut, but they're all great bands. Each one does their own thing extremely well, but they all contributed to the post-rock template that 95% of new music from the genre falls into now, making it one of the slowest-growing scenes around (appropriate, I guess).

Listen to some Bark Psychosis, Tortoise, or late-period Talk Talk to hear the jazzy roots of the genre. Really creative stuff. Do May Say Think kept that sound going for a while too.
 
Regardless of my comments, looking forward to hearing the new album. Album cover reminds me of drives down old roads in Utah.
 
I really don't recommend Skinny Fists first though, unless you're positive that you can listen to post-rock for longer than an hour without zoning out. I would even recommend the new one over that. Plus, it's always nice to have something to build up to.

The reason why I recommend it is because, for quite some time, I thought I disliked GY!BE on the basis of F♯ A♯ ∞. It was only when I finally got around to Skinny Fists that I thought "hey, this band actually is doing interesting things worth my time".

Plus, by a hair, RYM prefers Skinny Fists. :wink: (Same rating for both, 4.13, but over 1,500 more people contributed to Skinny Fists' rating being so high.)
 
I heard Skinny Fists first. It's amazing :shrug:.

Not too keen on hearing this one since I hated them live and one of the songs they played is on this.
 
I never said Skinny Fists wasn't amazing.

Does anyone actually read my posts? I'm more than just a pretty face, you know.
 
The Slow Riot EP is definitely good starting point. F'(è§ç'!è is my favourite. Godspeed is a lot more interesting than Explosions imo. I still like them but their music is a bit "generic".

Seeing them live in a month.:hyper:
 
Their live show was one of the worst I've ever seen. Was quite disappointing as I was REALLY excited to see them

How so?

I have noticed you seem to be much more critical of live bands than I am. I've never been truly disappointed by a band I've actually gone to see. The amount of truly bad bands I've seen is very small.
 
Really? I've felt like I've almost universally loved live shows I've seen.

There are many occasions I can think of (Prince and BSS) especially, where I went into a live show not caring much for a band, and then discovering that my entire opinion changed based on them live.


What didn't I like about Godspeed live? They were practially a wanky metal band live. And they had ZERO crowd interaction, which I hate.
 
Really? I've felt like I've almost universally loved live shows I've seen.

There are many occasions I can think of (Prince and BSS) especially, where I went into a live show not caring much for a band, and then discovering that my entire opinion changed based on them live.


What didn't I like about Godspeed live? They were practially a wanky metal band live. And they had ZERO crowd interaction, which I hate.

Actually, the only example I can recall off the top of my head is Neon Indian, who I've found really fun both times I've seen him/them. I thought there were more but can't think what they might be now.

I'd heard GYBE were pretty low on the crowd interaction, but I prefer that to half-arsed bullshit or a bland token gesture. If crowd interaction isn't your strength, don't do it. I'm just interested to see whether, when I see them in February, they really engage me with the music, or if they do too many of the boring droney "let's piss around for no apparent reason!" bits.
 
I don't expect a postrock band to interact with the crowd. Just play the music.
 
Not even a "hey, how you doin', people who spent money on me."?


And yeah, Axxo, I did hate Neon Indian, the first time I saw him. But that was only because the visuals were giving me a migraine like you wouldn't believe.

The second time I saw him, though abbreviated by rain, was a million times better.
 
Not even a "hey, how you doin', people who spent money on me."?


And yeah, Axxo, I did hate Neon Indian, the first time I saw him. But that was only because the visuals were giving me a migraine like you wouldn't believe.

The second time I saw him, though abbreviated by rain, was a million times better.

I don't really think that's necessary when you're the sort of band focused on letting the music do all the talking. Last time I saw EITS, they didn't say a word to the crowd, but the way they performed - there was definitely a strong connection with the audience.

Ahh, gotcha. :up:
 
nielsgov said:
I don't expect a postrock band to interact with the crowd. Just play the music.

This.

Personally, I thought they were tremendous live, although it took like 10 minutes to tell if any music was being played, which is a horrible mistake in a festival setting.
 
I think the 10 minute 'Hope Drone' is their standard opener, and yeah, it's a bad choice. That said, I was definitely impressed when I saw them. Didn't sound all that different from the studio albums, but were often chill inducing when they hit the crescendos. During the quiet sections, you could hear the clank of the glasses at the bar. This was at a midsized club with a reverent crowd; I think they'd be terribly suited for a festival.
 
My ears are still ringing.

No foolin' though, it was bad ass. Caught them, Badu, and Jack White last week. Not a bad week for someone who skipped the fest.
 
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