LIFT YOUR SKINNY FISTS LIKE ANTENNAS TO HEAVEN

Taking the atmosphere of F#A#Infinity and the musically superior arrangements of Yanqui UXO, GY!BE has created a masterpiece. Some say that Riot for Zero Kanada is their opus, an EP that demonstrates their sound more concisely, but for the full experience LYSFLAtH is a necessary experience for anyone into post-rock. With four epics and almost ninety minutes of music, this is an essential.

Skinny Fists is able to demonstrate an abundance of emotion in the absence of words, creating some sort of mood for any musical theme. Storm, for instance, begins the album with a warm, upbeat movement, and by the end of the song, it has moved into a deeply ominous passage. The actual music itself is done brilliantly, each movement (with several per song) building up from a simple riff and crescendoing into a peak after layers have been added on the original idea. Unlike on F#A# Infinity, they take everything they can get from a theme. Static, especially, is worth a mention here; the tension before the climax is spellbinding, leaving you wondering how it's possibly going to get more intense. It is set up so that the listener knows it will build up to something huge? and Godspeed delivers. The evolution of each song is done well, save perhaps the weakest song, the almost-title track. Though there are moments of bliss on Like Antennas to Heaven, it does not flow as smoothly as the other songs, additionally too reliant on samples and noise.

The samples, ambient, noise, and drone parts are largely present on Skinny Fists, used to break up periods of emotionally exhausting post-rock. I have no idea how the audio clips are relevant, but they add some more personality and quirkiness to the album, leaving the listener to ponder their meanings. The minimalistic forms of music present on the album are just kind of there, fitting the flow of the song and serving almost as interludes, though not the most enjoyable.

Despite all the noise and a relatively weak closing track, Skinny Fists is an excellent album and absolutely essential listening for anyone interested in post-rock. Combining atmosphere and brilliant songwriting techniques, GY!BE prove themselves masters of prog.

9/10, round up to five stars.