Pitchfork

On their towering debut, F#A#oo, the Montreal-based nine-piece Godspeed You Black Emperor! summed up enough fin-de-siecle dread in their instrumental compositions to put most coffeehouse lyricists in a vortex of public shame. Moody, tense, and harrowing, it was one of the best records released anywhere-- the kind of achievement that frustrates the hybrid characterizations that makes writing record reviews so damn easy. Rachel's meets Mogwai? Labradford meets Glenn Branca? Sonic Youth meets yo' mama after a coke binge? You see how difficult it is. Forget these stupid comparisons. It was a great record, and you'd do well to pick it up.

Whereas F#A#oo was a mostly gorgeous and somber affair, the Slow Riot for New Zero Kanada EP finds the nontet exploring the limits of out-and-out bombast. Utilizing the three spaced-out guitars, two basses, cello, violin, xylophone, and two drummers, this two-track offering is louder and more muscular than the band's debut. Both tracks (totalling 30 minutes) begin with menacing drones before slowly building up into dense, sprawling sections, which then become pummeling sonic attacks. Eventually, they lead into unparalleled moments of audio assault, before dispersing into quiet codas.

Whatever Godspeed has sacrificed in terms of melodic mood here is throttled by the ridiculously intense walls of melodic sound they summon throughout the record. Guitars and violins soar, drums crash accordingly, basses chug along, and people get fucking hurt. If, to talk in guitarist-speak, there is a pedal for "intense," Godspeed You Black Emperor! have stomped it to bits. Music this ambitious almost needs to be heard on a different kind of stereo. Have I said enough?

All this, of course, leaves one wondering what they'll do next. Over the course of two records, these guys have shown their masterful grasp of both quiet menace and full-throttle rackets. One can hope (and with some justification, expect) that their next recording will not render them victims of their own excellence.