Review Summary: Bleak, uncertain, beautiful.
When Godspeed You! Black Emperor released Yanqui U.X.O. in 2002, and subsequently went on indefinite hiatus, people were a little disappointed. Their third LP was such a departure from previous releases that it almost felt like it wasn't a 'true' Godspeed album. The lack of field recordings and a more concise songwriting style left a sour taste in fans' mouths.
Seventeen years later, and these differences are still apparent. However, it is interesting to note, and often forgotten, that since Godspeed have returned to releasing music, every album after Yanqui U.X.O. has been very similar in style and structure to Yanqui U.X.O. There are complaints made about recent releases, with people comparing them to F♯ A♯ ∞ and Lift Your Skinny Fists Like Antennas To Heaven, while Yanqui U.X.O. seemingly gets forgotten. And it is such a shame that it does, because there is some real genius in these 74 minutes of music.
Yanqui is without a doubt Godspeed’s darkest album. It is not a candid telling of humanity’s self-destruction, more a window into civilisation slowly and reluctantly falling apart. The bleakness is relentless, with only a few stark glimpses of hope scattered towards the end of the album. Beginning with the stellar 09-15-00, we are greeted immediately with the eerie and disturbing mood the album puts forward.
The violin melody halfway through 09-15-00 Part One is catchy in a way that makes you deeply uncomfortable. The dissonant strings are added to by guitars drenched in reverb, drums building and an overwhelming sense of unease. However, in this segment it’s easy to miss the beauty of what is being presented to you. The final crescendo in the opener is piled on so quickly that, on first listen, you only notice the dissonance and darkness. Beneath that is a chord progression that is deeply sad, as if Godspeed are witnessing the apocalypse, but are aware of their inability to stop it. It is scary, it’s disturbing, but it is also very human, and gives us a glimpse into a slow and sad demise.
The second part of 09-15-00 accompanies this, an epilogue to the brutal and powerful first part. It trudges along slowly, walking through the aftermath of this destruction. Again, it is painfully sad, with only a few high pitched guitar parts and violin lines scattered across it. We are then presented with the longest track, Rockets Fall on Rocket Falls.
Rockets Fall is both everything good and what little is bad with Yanqui U.X.O. Beginning with a dark, chromatic guitar descent, violin and high guitars slowly build a classic Godspeed crescendo. When the climax hits it really hits, and you’re surrounded by a wall of sound. Wailing guitars and pounding drums assault your ears, before hanging on a final chord just long enough to make you uncomfortable. The instruments slowly fade out and another chromatic descent, this time on woodwind, leads into the slog of Rockets Fall’s middle third.
I genuinely have no idea why this segment is so long. At over nine minutes, it trudges along with only a basic tribal drum beat and occasional guitars and violins to accompany it. It’s such a shame because the finale of Rockets Fall is so brilliant, switching tone effortlessly between triumphant and disturbing. If the slog in the middle had been cut by a minute or two, it would have been an excellent song all round, but Godspeed seem to keep the length in just to pad the runtime. It feels as if they wanted to have a trademark vocal sample, but ended up going without. It’s a real shame.
The highlight of Yanqui is its final two tracks, Motherfucker=Redeemer. Part one is the most stereotypically Godspeed song on the album, starting with quiet, high pitched metallic bells and slowly building in the way that Godspeed do best. High tempo drums and guitar enter, and the crescendo continues until exploding in euphoria, with soaring violins leading the charge. It’s Godspeed at their absolute best; the first half of Motherfucker=Redeemer Part One is on a par with anything on either of their first two albums. Again though, like on Rockets Fall, the second half carries for far too long. As the guitars, drums and violins fade away, we’re left with a quiet and foreboding guitar line, before the basses harmonise and finally, there is a flash of hope. A flash of major tonality, if only for a moment.
The finale of Yanqui U.X.O., Motherfucker=Redeemer Part Two, is everything that made Godspeed You! Black Emperor the almost infallible behemoths they are today. A long, dark, drawn out opening soon explodes into a high-tempo 7/4 beat, with flying drums and piercing guitars. Upon listening for the first time, you wonder if this is it: the album will have no uplifting ending like previous releases, it will just be bleak for its entire runtime. And then it hits. The rhythm reaches a climax then ceases, leaving only this beautiful, euphoric guitar. It is like a ray of sunshine through black cloud, soon followed by drums and bass again, until it ends as abruptly as it began. Yanqui U.X.O. finishes immediately, leaving you no time to ponder on what you just listened to.
Yanqui U.X.O. is an album that takes more than one listen to really enjoy. In all honesty, it probably takes more than five listens to fully appreciate. It is dense, dark, foreboding and difficult to listen to at times, but if you give it time, that final tone change in Motherfucker=Redeemer Part Two will be as satisfying as any of Godspeed's previous releases, and the violins of 09-15-00 will continue to play on your mind for days after you hear them. If Godspeed had had the courage of their convictions to shorten the album by ten minutes or so, Yanqui would be almost faultless. As it stands, it is flawed, but genius nonetheless.
n.b. The definitive release of Yanqui U.X.O. is the vinyl version, which has an extended ambient intro to Motherfucker=Redeemer Part Two, and a hidden track, George Bush Cut Up While Talking. The latter is eerie to the point of it being disturbing, but it is an essential listen to any Godspeed fan.
