Godspeed You! Black Emperor – 'Asunder, Sweet and Other Distress' Review

‘Godspeed You! Black Emperor’ is a Canadian progressive/post-rock band with a large cult following. I guess I count myself amongst the cult, having fallen in love with it’s amazing progression and the incredible vibe the music creates.
Their newest album, ‘Asunder, Sweet and Other Distress’ was released in March.
A common criticism levelled at bands from all genres is that their newest releases are sell-outs, made to tap into a more mainstream market. While I didn’t necessarily believe this to be the case with the band, I’d just assumed that ‘Asunder, Sweet and Other Distress’ would be their most accessible album yet. As I listened I realised I was quite wrong.
Unlike their previous albums ‘F#A#∞’ and ‘Lift Your Skinny Wrists Like Antennas To Heaven’, the album jumps right into a strong, pulsating drone rhythm accompanied by heavy guitar rather than easing the listener in with a slow build-up.
I’m no stranger to drone music. One of my favourite albums is ‘Spirit They’re Gone Spirit, They’re Vanished’ by Animal Collective, whose first track is a fantastically brain melting drone into oblivion. And maybe it’ll require a more in depth listen, but ‘Asunder’ just isn’t eliciting anything in me.
The first song ‘Peasantry Or ‘Light! Inside Of Light’ and the last song, ‘Piss Crows Are Trebled’ are the only two with a conventional musical rhythm. The songs between them act as a long, droney interlude that, while containing a long buildup, concludes in a disappointingly muted end.
That’s not to say the culmination of all this droning was not good, as I did find myself enjoying the closing track, but it seems like an awful lot of unnecessary build-up and an awful lot of work to arrive at an end not worth the time commitment to get there.
The joy of progressive rock is the build-up, the slow continuous rise to something great. The two previous Godspeed albums I’m familiar with absolutely nailed that journey, as each new layer of music built on the foundation set by the last. To that end, this new album was a disappointment. Skipping ahead on the intermediary tracks, especially ‘Lambs’ Breath’ didn’t feel like I was missing out on anything, just moving from drone to more of the same. It never felt like it was building to anything, just plateauing aimlessly. The next song, ‘Asunder Sweet’ was a bit better but it still felt only like an echo of their past work. Previously, turning off a Godspeed song, or any good progressive rock halfway through, would be akin to shooting yourself in the foot – you’d lose all the time commitment, investment and momentum of the song. This album though, caused me no moral distress to turn off half way through.
I wouldn’t recommend it for new listeners, or even to previous listeners, if they fell in love with the band for the same reasons I did. Check it out if you’re a massive fan of drone music though, as it could very well be everything you’ve ever wanted.
You can hear a seven minute excerpt, and digitally purchase the album here.