LIFT YOUR SKINNY FISTS LIKE ANTENNAS TO HEAVEN

This is very close to being GSYBE's best work. Four long tracks make up this double CD. Whoever wondered if a band like The Cure were to sound like when doing purely conceptual abstract soundscapes then GSYBE are the perfect example of how depressing, melancholic, manic and occassionally uplifting music should be delivered. Did I forget the adjective beautiful? That too. Lift Your Skinny Fists starts with the anthemic Storm. 22 minutes of swirling sounds, , slow builds, crashing crescendo's and fistlike pounding deliveries from the various musicians. Credentials are not advertised on GSYBE works much and this album is no exception. It does not matter who they are, more importantly the music takes you into another dimension or puts you on another level. Static is more laid back for the most part, some great spoken word by either a cult member or an evangelical messenger. Static from God? The mood starts shifting about nine minutes in as the songs builds to another hypnotic climax. The melancholic theme ubiquitous throughout. Sleep being the third part of this double set is more of the same vein in Static mode and the closing track Antennas to Heaven reminds me of a modern 18 minute version off Zeit from those famous German stalwarts Tangerine Dream. This is a wonderful work from this Canadian band. All their work is of a high calibre and I cannot stress enough the importance of their input in modern day progressive terms. Four and a half stars for an excellent studio album but also a vital ingredient to the Progressive Post/Math Rock catalogue.