Now I’ve been a fan of Godspeed You! for a wee while now, but most of that love has been reserved for their 2000 magnum opus Lift Your Skinny Fists Like Antennas to Heaven, but recently I have found myself enamored with their previous outing F♯A♯∞. Both albums share similar sounds, but F♯A♯∞ feels darker and more emotionally powerful in many ways.
F♯A♯∞ moves through three lengthy songs (roughly 16, 18 and 30 minutes respectively) in a similar way to an orchestra, splitting these ‘movements’ up into smaller tracks on the CD version. Like an orchestra, the band, which can consist of up to nine members, utilize a great number of instruments into the songs, along with field recordings of sounds and dialogue, as well as other real world noises. It all slides together to create a potent atmosphere that feels as old and as natural as the hillsides, yet is heavy with pollution.
But the most striking thing about this release is just how well the powerful and ominous emotion resonates in the listener. Like all good post-rock, it utilizes the harmonies and the crescendos magnificently in a way that draws the full power out of the sounds they are making, which is something that some bands like this tend to forget amongst all the experimenting.
✭ 4.4/5
♥ Post-rock, Sigur Rós, Explosions In The Sky, Mogwai
♫ Best listened to as a whole
⬇ Download Godspeed You! Black Emperor – F♯A♯∞
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