Chroniques et points de vue:

Un incontournable québécois:
C'est loin des projecteurs que Godspeed You Black Emperor ! a concocté Lift Your Skinny Fists…, un impressionnant enregistrement post-rock qui a voyagé discrètement mais sûrement autour du globe. 0n y trouve un travail des atmosphères qui séduit autant qu'il commotionne.

From :
Canada's Godspeed You Black Emperor raise the ante on their already ambitious orchestral rock by releasing a double CD of material as their second full-length album. The group combines the drums and guitar of typical rock-band instrumentation with horns and strings to create a music built around drones and slowly evolving melodic figures. lt rises and falls from delicate introductory passages to unabashed grand climaxes. Their juxtaposition of drums with violins and lush romantic tonality brings to mind Rachel's, but their compositional scale and the pounding repetitive intensity of their dynamic peaks evoke Glenn Branca's The Ascension. Although the two discs are indexed at only two 21-minute tracks each, the package includes a handy road map to the movements into which each is subdivided. The opening piece starts with five minutes of a 15-beat circular melodic pattern that is gradually embellished as the volume swells to an ecstatic roar. The release drops down to a pastoral drone that rebuilds to support an acid-etched guitar solo, which in turn yields to a unified 4/4 kraut rock pound that eventually explodes, leaving behind field recordings of public announcements mingled with wandering late-night Swell Maps piano. The other pieces use a similar set of sonic building blocks to take the listener on comparable journeys. Fans of Godspeed's previous work will be very happy, and the curious might want to hop on board as well. --Bob Bannister

Amazon.ca:
Godspeed You Black Emperor! récidive avec son rock instrumental somptueux et ses paysages musicaux enveloppants dans sa troisième production, Levez vos skinny fists comme antennas to heaven!. Le collectif montréalais – deux batteries, deux basses, trois guitares, un violon et un violoncelle – livre ici un disque double où l'expérimentation sonore, parfois proche du bruitage, se fait plus présente, l'orchestration encore plus riche, la charge émotive toujours puissante.

Les quatre morceaux, d'une vingtaine de minutes chacun, sont divisés en sections qui s'enchaînent à la manière des mouvements d'une symphonie. À partir d'un motif répété en sourdine, Godspeed échafaude de lancinants crescendos, qui aspirent inéluctablement l'auditeur dans des tourbillons de guitares bourdonnantes et de percussions appuyées. La tempête finit par s'apaiser, mais la quiétude cède bientôt le pas à l'intervention lyrique des cordes, à l'irruption solennelle des cuivres, à l'orage affolant des guitares.

Les compositions quasi filmiques du groupe incorporent des voix, captées hors du studio, qui donnent à l'ensemble un incroyable pouvoir d'évocation. lci, un vieil homme se remémore le paradis de sa jeunesse, Coney lsland ; là, un duo de glockenspiel débouche sur des comptines d'enfants, comme autant d'hommages à l'innocence dans un monde en décrépitude. Une sorte d'espérance obstinée, de foi enragée, affleure, malgré les ambiances angoissantes qui baignent l'album. Levez vos skinny fists comme antennas to heaven! est une bouleversante invitation au rêve et au cauchemar de la part d'un groupe qui échappe aux comparaisons. --Noémi Mercier









Disponibilité: Usually ships in 24 hours

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Note: - god bless godspeed
At first listen you think this should be used as the score for some film. It's vast, moving, subtle, brutal, emotional all rolled into one. This group of 9 talented musicians lead you on a wonderous journey of sound that just sweeps you away. I have to say that Storm is my favourite, but they're all amazing. Movements building to crescendos, and then you come crashing down to be built up again. At times it's like they just got together and jammed and this is the result, but they repeat the performance live as well. Sleep is moving with the sample of Murray Ostril talking about Coney Island, and sleeping on the beach there when he was young.
I can't praise this album enough, buy it and enjoy.

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Note: - Mysterious...
Hmm... what would have happened if Pink Floyd decided early on to eliminate folk from their musical vocabulary, and instead composed instrumental songs over 20 minutes long in the vein of "A Saucerful of Secrets" and "The Atom Heart Mother Suite"? You'd probably get something like this. Godspeed... is a very subtle group, and the songs take awhile to develop, but that still does not subtract from the overall listening experience. I can't really say that this is one of my favorite CD's, but it's good music all the same. For those of you like me with limited attention spans and a preference for vocals with the music, Sigur Ros does the same sort of thing, only better. However, if you have the patience to sit through 2 (or 4, if you listen to the discs back to back) songs almost half an hour in length, you should probably check this out.

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Note: - * Awe. ...
Godspeed You Black Emperor!'s second full length attempt continues their tradition of completely extraordinary, breathtaking music. The songs buildup, climax, and end wonderfully. Especially "Sleep", my personal favorite song on the album. The music can be described as an orchestral effort that combines 3 guitars, 2 bassists, 2 drummers, violin, and cello, with eletronic ambience. It is not like 'classical' in overall sound, but perhaps partly in song structure. It is more of a combination of orchestra and rock. Hence, its usually classification in the "post-rock" genre.

You must have patience. There is a lot of ambience within this album. However, it is definitely worth it to listen to songs in their full length, even though they are quite long songs (usually around 20 minutes each.) The songs also contain much buildup: like an approaching thunderstorm, the clouds come in setting the scene for the beautiful cataclsym at hand. The forceful wind arrives and wrecks the setting that was once full of grace. Lightning bolts with thundering crashes fill the scene with fear but awe at the same time...

If you are into creative, beautiful (but also pensive), complex, outstanding bands, look into this album and the rest of GYBE!. If you love dull, repetitive bands and lack patience, then stay away. Simple as that.

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Note: - a trip
it's kind of hard to say very much about this album, since it's incredibly hard to describe, and there aren't very many 'individual songs' to write about.

to put it simply, there are four tracks streched over 2 cds, 40+ minutes each cd. the noises on this cd can't be defined in words. it's life...it's oblivion...it's everything we see, eat and breath. the noises on this album achieve such staggering beauty as to blow the mind. how can simple words give this album justice? they can't, so you'll just have to listen.

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Note: - * Still digesting, but feeling kinda gassy. ...
So I bought "Lift Yr Skinny..." on a whim based on a thread of comparisons to everyone from Sigur Ros and Mogwai to Pink Floyd and Yes. I was very eager to experiment and prepared to be moved.

It is, on the first few listens I've given so far (it's tough to stay awake through a whole session), a disappointment.
The album reeks of pretentious inscrutability--everything from the packaging to the music itself. The presentation leaves you wondering if Godspeed...! are mockingly enigmatic, maniacally twisted, or just trying hard to be different.

One reviewer here drew a parallel to the symphonic rock of vintage Floyd (think Atom Heart/Ummagumma), but at least that music provides some (brilliant) melodic release after slogging through its psychedelic challenges. "Lift Yr Skinny..." never seems to deliver. The teasing crescendos build tantalizing promises of musical transport that never materialize.

Godspeed...! has been often lumped (at least by website "similar artist" machinery) with Sigur Ros. Except for moodiness and artsy popularity, there are no other similarities. Sigur Ros unequivocally dropped my jaw and brought tears to my eyes on the first listen. Some songs take some growing, but over all the brilliance is just blatant. "Lift Yr Skinny..." is a lot more like work. Admittedly, I'm still punching the clock on this one, so I hold out the hope that effort pays off.