The title of
Godspeed You! Black Emperor
's eighth full-length, and most explicitly political release, leaves no room for interpretation. The Canadian ensemble is justifiably outraged over the growing death toll and extreme loss of humanity caused by the war between Israel and Palestine. As with their previous albums, however, they protest by creating instrumental, orchestral rock music that uplifts rather than mourns, urging the listener to choose the side of love over hate. The album's opening piece, "Sun Is a Hole Sun Is Vapors," takes its time to slowly form, with buzzing waves of strings and melodic, chiming guitars brushed by jazzy drums. The first of three extended compositions, "Babys in a Thundercloud" opens with distant, bomb-like bursts and echoed guitars that drift like layers of dissipating smoke. The group perseveres, charging through the war zone, and the song's final minutes are positively triumphant, melding scorching guitar lines with skyward strings. "Raindrops Cast in Lead" partially feels like a return to the sort of raging crescendos the band mastered on their earlier albums, additionally incorporating a passage spoken in Spanish during the bridge. The rhythm accelerates, and by the end it feels like the band is winning a race and celebrating victory. The final ten-minute piece, "Pale Spectator Takes Photographs," is far more ominous and grim during its first half, but it gradually works up to an intense, winding conclusion. "Grey Rubble -- Green Shoots" progresses from dramatic foreshadowing to a romantic procession and lush, string-based coda. As with all of the band's work, this album is inspiring and life-affirming. ~ Paul Simpson