Allelujah! Don't Bend! Ascend! (180 Gram Vinyl) | Mint (M) Mint (M)
Allelujah! Don't Bend! Ascend! (180 Gram Vinyl) | Mint (M) Mint (M)
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Description
Description
When Godspeed You! Black Emperor reassembled to tour in 2011 after nearly a decade off, fans were simultaneously excited and filled with trepidation. Despite the fact that there was precious little new material in the show, the rearrangements of particular tunes from their repertoire proved that they were still well invested in expanding on what they'd built. A few short weeks before its release, GY!BE announced 'Allelujah! Don't Bend Ascend, their first new album in a decade. Now expanded to a nine-piece, the album features four tracks. There are two longer ones clocking in at 20 minutes each, and a pair at around six-and-a-half. Fans will be familiar with the longer tunes, "Mladic" and "We Drift Like Worried Fire" have been in the band's live set since 2002. That said, they have been thoroughly re-imagined and expanded for this larger ensemble. "Mladic" commences with the now-trademark sampled, obscure vocal tracks. It opens in a simulated Middle Eastern mode played by a treated violin, sounding like a ney. The distorted guitars and bass commence as a drone, as a detuned slide carries dissonance into it that gradually gives way to a wall of churning guitars in alternate tunings, wailing strings, and deep thudding drums. Its orchestral changes in the last third are GY!BE at their most aggressive. By contrast, the other long work, "We Drift Like Worried Fire," is almost a suite. Low bass drones, plucked guitars, and strings that suggest an Eastern European folk melody introduce it, answered by guitars; some playing distorted, restrained sonics, while others offer plucked, repetitive lines. The result is a languid, yet lovely, melodic series of repetitions. The strings enter to create a second, minimalist lyric line. Drums, feedback, and bass gradually quicken the pace until it gels into an intense, gorgeously melodic, and thunderous epic that soars. It disintegrates midway to assert another part of the journey, more minimal and tense. The musical dialogue is by turns contrapuntal, sinister, and elegiac before rising once more to a dramatic peak before feedbacking to close. "Their Helicopters Sing" and "Strung Like Lights at Thee Printemps Erable" are the shorter new works. (On the LP version, they're on a separate 7" single.) They act as pauses, different tonal meditations between the extended works. Both are based on slow drones, and explore more dissonant, cacophonous, electronic elements in GY!BE's sound. They offer rich, spacious entries into different, far more experimental aspects of the group's soundworld. It would be inaccurate to call 'Allelujah! Don't Bend Ascend a major work on the scale of Lift Your Skinny Fists Like Antenna to Heaven. That said, given the discipline and experimentation in the short pieces, and in the creative imagination displayed in rearranging the longer ones to accommodate a larger band, 'Allelujah! Don't Bend Ascend proves that GY!BE still has plenty of captivating things to say. ~ Thom Jurek
- Media Condition: Mint (M)
- Sleeve Condition: Mint (M)
- Format: Vinyl
- Genre: POST ROCK
- RSD Date: n/a
- Released: 10/16/2012
Condition Ratings & Details
Condition Ratings & Details
NOTE: Every title includes condition ratings. The first rating pertains to the physical media, and the second grade pertains to the sleeve.
NOTE: Images may not be exact. Please refer to the description to determine whether the images are Actual Photos or Photos Not Actual. New records will likely use generic web photos to represent the product.
Condition Ratings
- MINT (M): Perfect, brand new, unplayed.
- Near Mint (NM): Like new, barely played, will play perfectly.
- Excellent (EX): Very close to near mint, with minor cosmetic wear. Will play perfectly.
- Very Good Plus (VG+): Light cosmetic blemishes that do not affect play. Close to perfect playback.
- Very Good (VG): Some light marks that may cause minor noise during playback. Still enjoyable and plays well.
- Good Plus (G+): Noticeable noise during playback. Only listed if of collector value. Not ideal for listening.
Sleeve Details
- PHOTOS ACTUAL: The photo is an original image of the exact item you will receive.
- PHOTOS NOT ACTUAL: The photo is sourced from the web and may differ slightly from the actual item.
