“War is coming, don’t give up.”
If you have started reading this review blissfully unaware of who Godspeed You! Black Emperor are… what have you been doing with your life? Or, more diplomatically: prepare to have your musical map redrawn. Godspeed You! Black Emperor, who emerged from Montreal in the mid-1990s, are known for their lengthy instrumentals that are dark yet dreamy, apocalyptic yet hopeful, turbulent yet peaceful. They were not the first band to be described as “post-rock”, but are probably the most influential and versatile band to carry that label.
When I discovered the band in 2008, they had long been on an indefinite hiatus. Their pre-hiatus discography (three albums and one EP) is essentially flawless, and the long hiatus only allowed the band’s mythological status to grow. But then the band reconvened. 17-year old me would have been awed to learn that I would go on to see the band live twice, get the t-shirts and all that. And I would have been even more excited to learn that the band would go on to release more albums post-hiatus than pre-hiatus. Inevitably, however, having the band back together again for over a decade has made that mythological spell fade.
Their first post-hiatus album, 2012’s ‘Allelujah! Don’t Bend! Ascend!, was incredible. The following two albums (2015’s Asunder, Sweet and Other Distress and 2017’s Luciferan Towers) certainly had their moments, but felt like they lacked inspiration. Fortunately, Godspeed You! Black Emperor returned to form on 2021’s G_d’s Pee AT STATE’S END!. All this band needed to put some fire back in their belly was a global pandemic.
Which leads us to their new album. With a title like NO TITLE AS OF 13 FEBRUARY 2024, 28,340 DEAD, I think we can all safely guess which ongoing atrocity inspired the band. Compared to their previous albums, there’s a distinct lack of self-deprecating humour, which – given the title – is perhaps unsurprising. And this is also reflected in the tone of the music. This album contains some of Godspeed’s most emotional work: angry, distraught and mournful. This is reflected in the band’s writing, but also in its production: things feel much more in-your-face than usual. And, perhaps most pleasingly, almost 30 years after their formation, Godspeed are still experimenting.
The album opens with the short, self-contained “SUN IS A HOLE SUN IS VAPORS”. It’s centred on a bugle-like guitar line, with atmospherics largely supplied by gentle, fluttering percussion. Things really get going on the second track, “BABYS IN A THUNDERCLOUD,” a beautiful, mournful piece that ebbs and flows in all the ways that one would expect from classic Godspeed. I was most reminded of parts of “Antennas to Heaven”, although this track is more focused and forceful. For the uninitiated, “BABYS IN A THUNDERCLOUD” encapsulates everything that makes Godspeed such a great band: the dynamic shifts, the emotional range, the incredibly cohesive arrangements. It’s all there and it’s as wonderful now as it’s ever been.
What follows is, for me, the low point of the album. On paper, “RAINDROPS CAST IN LEAD” has all the elements that one would need for a classic Godspeed track, but it’s missing something. It reminds me of what I regard as the band’s weakest album, Luciferan Towers: nothing feels wrong, but it lacks inspiration. It almost feels a bit too polite.
But this is more than made up for by the remainder of the album. “BROKEN SPIRES AT DEAD KAPITAL”, “PALE SPECTATOR TAKES PHOTOGRAPHS” and “GREY RUBBLE – GREEN SHOOTS” feel like three parts of one larger song. “BROKEN SPIRES AT DEAD KAPITAL” serves as an eerie, ominous introduction. Haunting violins eventually give way to sinister, grinding bass, which lead us into “PALE SPECTATOR TAKES PHOTOGRAPHS”. This is perhaps the most disturbing chapter in Godspeed’s discography to date. Eventually the weird, simmering cauldron of ambience explodes into menacing, building guitar riffs. But rhythmically, things are far from straightforward. The effect is incredibly disorienting and a powerful experience – as if “Mladic” grew some extra tentacles. Eventually the track assumes a more straightforward rhythm, but even then things gradually get more and more tense, “East Hastings” style. After a brief reprieve, the listener is thrown into “GREY RUBBLE – GREEN SHOOTS”. Musically, I am reminded most of “Piss Crowns are Trebled”, although here the pounding riffs give way to a gentle, mournful end of the album, albeit one that feels like it stops rather abruptly.
NO TITLE AS OF 13 FEBRUARY 2024, 28,340 DEAD is a soul-stirring album. It has all the hallmarks of classic Godspeed: incredible atmosphere, huge emotional range and flawless interplay between the musicians. I’m reluctant to put it up there with the classic, pre-hiatus albums. But if I’m honest, I expect an awful lot of that is to do with nostalgia. I don’t think the band’s albums from the 2020s need to ape or compete with their 1990s work. This album is certainly a worthy follow-up to 2021’s G_d’s Pee AT STATE’S END!. While the weakest points of NO TITLE AS OF 13 FEBRUARY 2024, 28,340 DEAD are weaker than those of its immediate predecessor, its strongest points are also stronger, bolder and more experimental. It’s very rare for a band to be breaking new ground 30 years after they formed, but I’m glad we have Godspeed You! Black Emperor to show us all that it’s possible.
8.5/10
No Title as of 13 February 2024 28,340 Dead releases through Constellation Records and can be pre-ordered here.