ALBUM REVIEW: GODSPEED YOU! BLACK EMPEROR - LUCIFERIAN TOWERS

GODSPEED YOU! BLACK EMPEROR
"LUCIFERIAN TOWERS"
Constellation Records
Post Rock, Drone, Noise Rock.
Listening Format: Vinyl



Godspeed You! Black Emperor feel like they should need no introduction, but I actually forget that when I stumbled upon this band more than ten years ago, I'd never heard them mentioned by anyone. No other artists or journalists were name checking this Canadian collective and they didn't have any radio airplay. It wasn't until the Danny Boyle film 28 Days Later came out that I first heard the name, but I didn't stumble across what a legacy this band hold until falling deep down the internet forum rabbit hole. Of course nowadays, they feel like a band that need no introduction at all. Pretty much anyone who listens to alternative music or reads Pitchfork will claim to love this band. They even got name checked by Seth Rogan in the film Pineapple Express. But if you STILL haven't heard of them by now, Godspeed You! Black Emperor hold a LOT of acclaim. I frequently hear them get labelled as "The best Post Rock band EVER!", "The best band of the last 20 years!" or even "THE BEST BAND EVER!!!" And who am I to argue!? Their 4 main releases in their original incarnation between 1995-2002, I consider to be some of the most mind-blowing, groundbreaking, forward thinking, bone-chilling, awe inspiring, [INSERT GRAND HYPERBOLE HERE] EVER!!! One of THE bands whose music will sing ruthlessly in my veins 'til the day I die. They went on a large hiatus after 2002's 'Yanqui UXO' album, but came back really strong. Not everyone has favoured their "reunion" albums quite as much, but I have thoroughly enjoyed them. So here we have their third "reunion" album, Godspeed You! Black Emperor Plays "Luciferian Towers"!

Well... Once again I am floored! Following in the wake of 2014's 'Asunder, Sweet, And Other Distress!' Godspeed are making some of their most concise albums, running just over 40 minutes and single LP length. Yet I feel like they are still managing to bring an apocalyptic tour-de-force with their grand instrumental Rock. Opening with the 7 minute 'Undoing a Luciferian Towers', this track plays like an overture. An ominous drone escalates in loudness and intensity as the ensemble of guitars, drums, violins and atmospherics gradually sink their teeth in one by one. It plays like an orchestra warming up their instruments at the start of the concert. Though the track concludes on an almighty cacophony... An eerie, joyous racket... GY!BE veterans might be tempted to call this "light" or perhaps even "tame" compared to the band that devastated our ears on 'Lift Your Skinny Fists Like Antennas to Heaven's 20 minute behemoths. Fortunately, once the band have warmed up they soon deliver something much more atypical of their style. In fact 'Bosses Hang' is without a doubt one of my all time favourite GY!BE compositions. Over 14 minutes and 3 distinct movements, the ensemble chill my bones to the core with thundering drawn out guitar chords, pounding timpani drums and sweeping violins. Because GY!BE implement so many Noise, Drone and Ambient sections into their compositions, I feel like their ear for supremely catchy melodies can often be understated. But 'Bosses Hang' delivers this absolutely beautiful and glorious leading melody that often weaves in and out of the 3 movements. The first act is pretty storming, building up rather hastily (by their standards), before winding down in the second movement to an almost Celtic influenced string section that sounds eerily similar to the mid section of The Who's 'Baba O'Riley'. Typically when the third movement of 'Bosses Hang' kicks up, it cuts you like a storm in heaven, reprising the epic main melody with guitars that are screaming towards the skies. Godspeed You! Black Emperor are well known for their ear shattering climaxes (often following long teasing build ups) and here we find one of their most effective uses of this trademark. Even though it may adhere to Post Rock standards, I feel like GY!BE have more than earned the right to be doing it still in 2017, I mean they really ARE the band that have always done it better than anyone else!

The third track 'Fam/Famine' is more on the restrained side like the opener, but still glorious. GY!BE manage to work in their more introspective and mellowed out moments arguably more effectively than the previous two album's Drone interlude tracks. This track once again hangs on an understated melody, washed with tremolo strings, and noisy production, retaining such a distinct earthy and natural sound. "Luciferian Towers" ends on another 14 minute composition, 'Anthem For No State', building slowly with gloomy guitar arpeggios and mournful strings, almost having this Morricone old west kind of feel. The way this track unfolds is much more gradual, reminiscent of old school GY!BE in a way. Once again it is the third and final movement that impresses most, launching into straight up Noise Rock territory, with these loud feedback driven guitars just hanging in the air as Sophie Trudeau's violin shrieks violently and the punishing drums shatter the ground beneath. This track certainly has the most "soundtracky" feel on this album, tying nicely with the album artwork that mimics a film script.

Admittedly Godspeed You! Black Emperor's post reunion albums aren't QUITE as good as their original incarnation's legacy, but I will say with an honest heart that all of the major Post Rock bands such as Mogwai, Explosions In the Sky, Sigur Ros and Mono had a 10 year gap where they could have caught up and tried to outdo their genre foes, but none of them stepped up to the plate (don't get me wrong, I actually like those bands). A new Godspeed album doesn't come along often enough, but they are still the absolute kings of Post Rock... When Godspeed release a new album, they manage to dwarf EVERY ONE OF THEIR PEERS into complete insignificance. That is how good this band are. "Luciferian Towers" is another stunning effort, and it stands out from some of their other albums by proving just how utterly fucking good they are at writing killer melodies. Not since the opening refrains of 2000's "Storm" have I found myself humming a Godspeed song on my walk home from work. Instead of going for something, dark, apocalyptic and menacing, "Luciferian Towers" plays like a victory march after an epic, bloody battle. It's one of their most joyous, majestic and dare I say it, feel good albums in their entire discography. Utterly essential listening. It is a new Godspeed album and YOU MUST HEAR IT!!! 8/10.

ALBUM REVIEW: ARCADE FIRE - EVERYTHING NOW

ARCADE FIRE
EVERYTHING NOW
Columbia Records
Alternative Rock, Art Pop, Electro-Funk, Disco-Pop.
Listening Format: CD



Arcade Fire are genuinely one of my favourite Alternative/Indie Rock bands, especially of the past 10 years. I was fortunate enough to hear them right from the start when their self-titled EP first came out, and I remember the video premiere of 'Power Out' back in the pre-YouTube MTV2 days. I've enjoyed following this band throughout my twenties and I feel like they have always been flag wavers for forward thinking, grand, majestic, bold and ambitious Rock music. Their first three albums in particular are already classics of the genre and era in my eyes. I actually really enjoyed 'Reflektor' for the most part too.

Previous album 'Reflektor' saw a step into a more Electronic direction, with influences of Disco and Funk popping into their sound. I guess the whole Daft Punk and Pharrell Williams thing made a huge impact around the time. Arcade Fire also enlisted James Murphy of LCD Soundsystem fame to add his magic touch. Though the album received mixed reviews from fans and critics, Arcade Fire have decided to delve even further into the realm of Electro-Pop, Funk and Disco with their fifth full length, 'Everything Now'. Even before this album came out, a big chunk of their fanbase seemed to let out a collective groan, but surely such an innovative band can't sink that low... Right!?

From the first listen it is obvious that Arcade Fire have been listening to a lot of Abba, Talking Heads, Bowie's 'Young Americans' and even more LCD Soundsystem. 'Everything Now' is their most overtly Pop-centric, commercial and radio friendly album to date. In particular it sounds worlds away from the band who made the dark and brooding 'Neon Bible' album. Regardless, I think 'Everything Now' gets off to a fairly good start. The title track and lead single is so uplifting, boombastic and catchy. The chanted chorus will get stuck in your head, and the production is fantastically layered. Certainly Arcade Fire doing what they do best. The funky as hell Disco grooves on 'Signs of Life' actually work really well. There is such a strong influence of Abba, Chic and even Donna Summer on this track. There are even FREAKIN' AIR RAID SIRENS in the mix! Perfectly nostalgic, and yet refreshingly modern too. Second single 'Creature Comfort' kicks off with an infectious Goldfrapp-esque Electro groove, but is sadly let down by some really cringey lyrics. "She dreams about dying all the time / She told me she came so close / Filled up the bathtub and put on our first record"... Ugh really Win Butler? That is some bad self-congratulatory fourth wall breaking. The whole song's lyrics about self harm, suicide, depression and body dysmorphia just come across so obnoxious and over the top when paired with such a happy, bouncy melody. The song also suffers from adding too many layers. The amazing Electro-Funk groove of the intro could have easily have carried the song, but the layers of synths, Regine Chassagne's high pitched backing wails, and a glockenspiel melody that makes it sound like an '80s Christmas song... It's just loses any sense of subtlety. 'Chemistry' has to be the worst song this band have ever recorded. Like... What even is this?! How did it make the final cut of the album??? It's a proper cat-sat-on-the-mat happy little ditty that makes MGMT sound like Pink Floyd. 'Infinite Content' is another painfully underwritten song that suddenly brings in these Punk-influenced guitars sounding absolutely nothing like anything else on this album, and it just sounds so amateurish and far too polished, with all the edges rounded off... 'Electric Blue' is the token song with Regine Chassagne on lead solo vocals (there's at least one on every Arcade Fire record) and this is one of the better songs here. The funky disco grooves are back and actually suit the shiny production style they are going for, unlike the horror of 'Infinite Content' (which lasts less than two minutes long by the way). 'Electric Blue' has a catchy stomp with an icy high pitched wail that works really well, I could see this being a hit in Indie Rock club nights. Again it reminded me of Goldfrapp. What happened to Arcade Fire only sounding like Arcade Fire eh?

I don't want to go on describing every track on this album. What we have here is an incredibly mixed bag of songs. There are tracks that I genuinely enjoyed and feel fit in with the aesthetics and vibes that Arcade Fire are all about, but for the first time on an Arcade Fire, I'm hearing tracks that are genuinely terrible, underwritten, amateurish and directionless. A big surprise from such an accomplished band five albums into their journey. Arcade Fire are lucky enough to be in one of those rare positions, where they have complete creative control of their sound, have headlined Glastonbury Festival, and continue to have strong album sales. They've had a similar amount of critical acclaim and simultaneous chart success as Radiohead before them. A band in this incredible position should not at all be simplifying their sound and aiming to make their most radio-friendly, Pop and commercial sounds yet. This is the exact point where Arcade Fire should be dropping their most experimental, abstract and challenging material yet, like what Radiohead continued to do after the success story that was 'OK Computer'.

I'm pretty sure that no Arcade Fire fans wanted them to make this kind of record. And whilst the final results are far from being horrible, in fact I've enjoyed a good chunk of this record on a superficial level, but Arcade Fire have such a strong reputation to uphold. I really feel like Arcade Fire have just sold themselves short with this record. We all know they are capable of SO MUCH BETTER, they've proved it again and again in the past. 'Everything Now' is pretty mediocre, forgettable and just way too simplistic and middle of the road for a band of this stature. An absolute missed opportunity and a lack of ambition or direction completely haunt this record from start to finish. It's not bad, but it is also so far below all of their previous efforts that it is almost painful... 5/10.