Godspeed You! Black Emperor: 'Allelujah! Don't Bend! Ascend! (Constellation) | Under the Radar Magazine Under the Radar | Music Blog for the Indie Music Magazine
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Godspeed You! Black Emperor

‘Allelujah! Don’t Bend! Ascend!

Constellation

Dec 12, 2012 Web Exclusive By Hays Davis Bookmark and Share


With thoughtfully crafted compositions so carefully rendered, Godspeed You! Black Emperor plays like a massed force that could show its mighty strength at any time, and can be equally compelling and unnerving when it does. “Mladic” carries an orchestra’s depth; a thick cloud of guitar roils atop a layer of storm-cloud drums before the fever finally breaks at roughly 18 minutes, after which the piece rides out with a tribal stomp. The shorter “Their Helicopters Sing” swells in a six-minute drone exercise.

“We Drift Like Worried Fire,” the heart of the record, is Godspeed at its evocative best. Beginning with subdued strings, the band settles in with a melodic theme that builds tension (sharing similar territory with Explosions in the Sky) and crests with peaking electric guitar and strings. Taking a rhythmic turn that also incorporates some Far East flair, the piece then settles into a solid rock beat and heads skyward for a genuinely thrilling climax.

Marrying an experimental-rock ethos with a symphony’s scope, Godspeed once again offers a record that easily matches the intrigue of their album titles and covers.

(www.brainwashed.com/godspeed)

Author rating: 7.5/10

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