Godspeed You! Black Emperor -- Slow Riot for New Zerø Kanada

10/10

If I was gonna complain about Godspeed You! Black Emperor's debut album, F# A# Infinity, I'd say it is more of a bunch of sound collages than actual songs, and it is probably a little bit too long. Except, I wouldn't complain about that because I just did complain about it, just now. Isn't the English language confusing? Anyway, though F# A# Infinity is a very good album, it is more sound collage than songs, and it does go on just a bit too long. Its followup, Slow Riot for New Zerø Kanada, remedies both issues. Both tracks are actually well-written songs, and the whole thing clocks in at right under thirty minutes. On Slow Riot for New Zerø Kanada, Godspeed absolutely perfect the quiet to loud dynamics they became famous for. "Moya" is just a straight-ahead, perfectly written example of a winding, building instrumental song. It starts off creating a mood, builds on that mood, then explodes that mood. It could be the example in the textbook of instrumental rock. "BBF3," on the other hand, takes the formula to a whole new level, and no one has topped it since. "BBF3" weaves the recording of an obviously unhinged man throughout its near 18-minute runtime, and somehow makes him inspiring. Between the moments the man speaks, the band build up a monster of a song, deliver a wonderful payoff, and end with a gorgeous string-led epilogue. This EP/Album/Whatever is an astounding statement, one countless bands have tried to ripoff since. Unfortunately for those bands, Slow Riot for New Zerø Kanada exists in a place outside of space and time. Its timeless awesomeness continues.


1999 Constellation/Kranky Records
1. Moya 10:51
2. BBF3 17:45