Godspeed You! Black Emperor* – Asunder, Sweet And Other Distress

The record sounds really good, but my pressing was really flaky, since it had loops upon opening the vinyl on the side A (I cleaned it the moment I got it).

Could someone please post some pictures of the album? :)

I love the poster.. It's made of the same thick plastic-like material that the sleeve itself is made out of. Very durable.

As one critic pointed out online, GYBE is still not verbally defining their political stance that fuels their political-paranoia style of post-rock. And considering how much has changed with the advent of the internet and the sheer volume of information/misinformation/disinformation to be found online, means more and more than ever before, every one of us needs to be clear about each other's politics to one another. Can't just angrily/sadly sit in a depressed/darkened room with GYBE albums blasting on the headphones and the curtains drawn, going, "The government's corrupt, maaaaaan." Now we've got a much clearer mental grasp on the political climate and GYBE needs to soundtrack that current climate. It's not enough to say "WE LOVE YOU SO MUCH OUR COUNTRY IS FUCKED" in the liner notes. Tell us WHY you guys think our country is screwed, because music alone here can't define exactly what it is you're trying to say.

So, we got Alleluia in 2012 after a near-decade of silence, and the perceptive few online (amidst the collective 5/5 welcome-back group hug) called it a throwback album. Pretty much, yeah. But one HELL of a throwback album. More powerful than Explosions in the Sky, as emotive as the best of Mogwai without falling into the sad-sack naval-gazing of early post-rock, and featuring the best album production they've ever had (take note, Albini), these guys dropped a bomb right back onto the genre and rocked out in the smoking crater. They've never sounded better than this. Note the train-like *chug*chug*chug* of the crunchy guitar intro 5 minutes into 'Mladic' and you'll picture Godspeed's lean, mean, ferocious machine coming down the rails back home to Mile End where fans like us have been waiting for their return. Their best record since Skinny Fists, bar none. But Asunder is ultimately disappointing because their ideas are treading water (or piss) here.

Mind you, it's not all bad. The first track 'Peasantry' is the clear stand-out here; it's one cohesive whole in and of itself. A beautiful track, worth the purchase of the album alone. Next, we get two tracks of the bored/boring drone stuff that was found on their previous album. Yeah, I know the drones build the listener up to the climax; like many of you, I've been listening to GYBE do that since the F#A#Infinity days. Thing is, those drones only work when the payoff is worth the wait. The 'Piss' climax of this album has a promising first half, only to get a rushed(!) finish for the second half that feels way too Godspeed-by-numbers. Didn't grab at all. Matter of fact, I was stupified by the sudden rush into the drum drop. Compare that to the patient slow-burner finishes of their previous major works and you'll feel the disappointment, too. In other words, it's like a lot of so-called art today: strong opening that grabs your attention and prepares you for something great... only to flounder out thereafter like a flattened whoopie cushion. Considering the nearly decade-long hiatus GBYE had before slamming back into the post-rock genre with Alleluia, I think maybe another decade out would do them some good again.

That, or clearly articulating their band-long paranoia with defining political words to their fans.
C'mon, GYBE. Let's hear it already. In words next time.

(Purchased directly from the Constellation Records website.)

I love how you never have to worry about getting a bad pressing with a GY!BE release. They all sound great. Add Asunder, Sweet And Other Distress to that list.

Tour de Force in songwriting, this album is imo their best. One's mind won't venture at all while listening to this. Better than Lift ur Skinny Fists, and F#, apologetically nuanced, this is Godspeeds world opened up for your reflective pleasure. This band is already something else, this release is the cumulative revelation of their rather brilliant collective

We are once again charmed and amazed by the new creature conceived by Godspeed You! Black Emperor and this is the proof that the Canadian band is capable of reinventing its music without abandoning the emotive core that marks it. Their fifth full length album powerfully claims attention, especially of those willing to dive only on the surface of it, now that the sensationalist enthusiasm generated by the reunion has waned. Sonic waves opening Asunder, Sweet and Other Distress show from the very beginning that we are swimming in significantly different waters from the ones already known. So heavy and sturdy as never before, Canadians recall undulant drones of last Earth albums (with devastating s and walls of distortions) more than post rock music – genre of which they are considered among the greatest interpreters. In less than 45 minutes there is no trace of ambient noises, distant voices or sonic fragments that usually enriched the emotionality of past albums. Composed during last tours and already performed live several times, the new opus by GY!BE has been shaped through time until it reached its essential form, proving to be the most synthetic and concise in the band career, yet at the same time the one that mostly exalts the opposites of the poetics of the band. While opening and closing deeply plant their roots in the rock sound of distorted guitars, the central core flows in one of the deepest cosmic oceans ever conceived by the band.

Fantastic album, love how side A stays looped in the matrix to keep the tension going. Grab this baby

Great album. .. darker, heavier and louder album from Godspeed. Distortions on B side are delicious. Amazing pressing !