God’s Pee AT STATE’S END - Godspeed You! Black Emperor (2021)

Somewhere back up the timeline in here, I complained that a lot of post-rock doesn’t sound very “post” anything. If you pressed me for an example of post-rock that really is “post” I would give you GYBE. They’ve been a favorite of mine since the 90s. Their free-wheeling screeds are all instrumental but not all-rock. Orchestral and ambient breaks segue into long droning noise rock jams. Patterns and ideas are repeated until they become almost transcendental, then whip back into something else. It really feels like a rollercoaster gone off the rails, and you really don’t have any idea what might be thrown at you next.

It’s easy to sound rhapsodic about stuff you love, so I won’t get too mushy. But while my early experiences with these guys still echo loudest in my head (their F# A# ∞ will always be my favorite for how much it rearranged my brain when I heard it), this new one doesn’t disappoint.

Tracks I liked

Job’s Lament - builds up a doomy, almost unbearable tension until it releases about 3 minutes in.

Fire at Static Valley - Slow and moody all the way through

OUR SIDE HAS TO WIN - a hopeful adagio of an ending