YANQUI U.X.O.

This is one of the greatest post-rock records I've ever heard in my life. Post-rock masters Godspeed You! Black Emperor seem to have gone out of

comission, but not without leaving us with their masterpiece: Yanqui U.X.O. This album differs a bit from their previous efforts: no samples, no musique

concrete sections, just purely an hour plus of music. Though I loved these aspects about their previous albums, this one fares quite well on its own without

it.

09-15-00 (Pt. 1)- my favorite GY!BE song to date. The whole song seamlessly transitions from one section to the next, not a single one overstaying it's welcome, and arranged that the song is one continuous buildup (rather than one buildup and almost as much falling action as they do on many of their songs including track 3 on this album). There are no words to describe this, one must hear it for oneself.

09-15-00 (Pt. 2) a fair amount more subdued than the previous track, but the mellow, dreary mood it creates provides a good aftermath for the previous track, and stands quite well on its own as a post-rock track. Probably the closest sounding to typical post-rock that they've ever sounded (which is by no means derivative or unoriginal)

Rockets Fall on Rocket Falls- Starts off with a very nice ostenato that crescendos (wow, I could really say that about half of their catalogue, but for whatever reason, it works every time) and has a substantial amount of falling action that may tend to be a little long but not agonizingly so, only to build again to a second climax that's just as intense as the first.

Mother***er=Redeemer (Pt. 1)- This proves to be the first (and only) GY!BE song that has a remotely danceable beat, which at first sounds somewhat out of place, but as the other instruments come in, it really works, with somewhat jumpy and uncharacteristically upbeat sounding (yet still bleak) strings joining in after time until that reaches the top of the crescendo, and the rest of the song falls into a more calm, somewhat sparse section.

Mother***er=Redeemer (Pt. 2)- Starting with some airy space filling strings, a 7/8 bass groove (probably their catchiest since Static) comes in and propels the song to the next section, with a gradual accelerando, changing and building for 9 whole minutes until it all falls out into a similar section to the beginning, and it ends with it sounding like the sound being sucked right out of the speakers.

This album is fantastic by post-rock standards and prog-rock standards, with its lush and sweeping orchestral arrangements and intense emotional peaks. I unhesitantly give this album 5 stars, essential for any post-rock collection.

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