Godspeed You! Black Emperor albums are typically accompanied by a collective ideological statement of intent from the Montreal instrumental ensemble. And coming in the midst of a pandemic that has greatly magnified the societal inequalities they’ve always railed against, the missive/press release that accompanies G_d’s Pee AT STATE’S END! practically reads like a ransom note, with calls to “take power from the police and give it to the neighbourhoods that they terrorise” and “tax the rich until they’re impoverished”, among others. But where they were once the doomsday prophets of pre-millennium post-rock, the band’s response to the intensifying turmoil of 21st-century life is to radiate an ever-greater degree of positivity through their music.
Godspeed’s seventh album adheres to a similar structure as their post-reunion releases (with two mammoth, multi-sectional movements each flanked by a shorter piece) while tapping into a similar spirit of hard-fought perseverance. However, G_d’s Pee AT STATE’S END! is distinguished by its heightened sense of clarity and levity. In contrast to the sustained, swelling drones of 2017’s Luciferian Towers and the defiant doom-metal behemoths of 2015’s Asunder, Sweet and Other Distress, this set’s opening four-track suite gradually blossoms from a minimalist, militaristic march into a delirious orchestral swirl, before entering an extended comedown jam that suggests ’70s Floyd jamming with Crazy Horse. The equally expansive companion piece (spread over tracks 6 and 7) likewise travels from desolate valleys to staggering peaks and back again, but rallies for a triumphant victory-lap gallop that could very well count as the most elating piece of music this band has ever produced. Even the brief meditative ambient symphony that closes the record is embedded with inspirational energy—it’s called “OUR SIDE HAS TO WIN”, so consider G_d’s Pee AT STATE’S END! a sonic premonition of the better, more humane world that awaits us on the other side.
Tracklisting
- A Military Alphabet (Five Eyes All Blind) (4521.0kHz 6730.0kHz 4109.09kHz) / Job’s Lament / First Of The Last Glaciers / Where We Break How We Shine (Rockets For Mary)
- Fire At Static Valley
- “Government Came” (9980.0kHz 3617.1kHz 4521.0 kHz) / Cliffs Gaze / Cliffs’ Gaze At Empty Waters’ Rise / Ashes To Sea Or Nearer To Thee
- Our Side Has To Win (For D.H.)
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Release Information
| Key | Value |
|---|---|
| Wikipedia URL | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/G_d%27s_Pee_at_State%27s_End! |
| Format | Vinyl LP (180 gram), Vinyl 10" 33 ⅓ RPM EP, All Media Album |
| Label | Constellation |
| Catalog Number | CST156 |
| Notes | Tracked live at the almighty hotel2tango, 6-11 octobre 2020. Edits and overdubs 12-18 octobre 2020. Mastered at Greymarket. Released in a gatefold cover with b/w printed inner sleeves. Comes with label insert. This release is auto-coupled: the LP contains sides A and 3, while the 10" contains sides B and 4. The record labels name the sides 12A, 12B, 10A & b (the b side of the 10 inch is labeled simply ‘b’). The cover refers to the order of the tracks as sides A (12" A side), B (10" A side), 3 (12" B side) & 4 (10" b side) For additional clarity: the 12" contains what is referred to as sides A and 3 (where Side 3 contains a locked groove) and the 10" has sides B & 4. Side 3 (12" side labeled 12B) ends with a locked groove. The writing on the label of the 10" side b (AKA “Side 4) is in Yiddish; “מיך וועלן זיי איבערלעבן”. The correct spelling for the word is “מיך וועלן זיי איבערלעבד” (Translation: We will outlive them). Housed in an embossed gatefold sleeve and includes a DL card. Some pre-orders at independent record stores included a promo poster. The back cover features logos of [l1285790] and [l56231]. |
| Discogs URL | Godspeed You Black Emperor! - G_d’s Pee At State’s End! |