For almost 30 years now, Godspeed You! Black Emperor has released project after project of provocative concept albums. The band started across the border in Montreal, in the year 1994. Eight studio albums later, the Post-Rock group has managed to crank out yet another successful venture using their experimental formulas.
Known for their long and epic-sounding tracks, as well as their anti-capitalist and humanistic sensibilities, the group’s newest release “NO TITLE AS OF 13 FEBRUARY 2024 28,340 DEAD” is no exception. The title is a reference to the Palestinian death toll in the Gaza Strip. As a result of the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas. The “lack” of an official title has been addressed by the band in their album statement. In the words of Godspeed You! Black Emperor, “What gestures make sense while tiny bodies fall? What context?”. The song titles found in this album are most likely further addressing the situation in the Middle East. Titles like, “RAINDROPS CAST IN LEAD” and “PALE SPECTATOR TAKES PHOTOGRAPHS” offer a grim insight into what life is like on the Gaza Strip.
It is quickly understood that this is an important release for the band that comes with a clear message. Civilians are dying. Children and women are dying. Tens of thousands of them. Why? The date marked only adds to the despair, as the album was released on October 4th, 2024. Almost eight months after the pinpointed February 13th. The death toll in the Gaza Strip now sits at over 42,000.
The album continues the trends that GY!BE has set over the course of their career. This is a band that executes its art in a grandiose and epic fashion. Long format tracks offer a roller coaster of dynamic shifts, alongside poetic lyrics that speak to the failings of our modern society. Adding on to that is a healthy dose of religious skepticism.
For an album that deals with such a harsh topic, the music is not all dark in tone. There are periods in which the mood lightens and hope shines through microscopic cracks. However, these moments are fleeting and soon paraded upon, either by overall melancholy or overdriven guitar lines that cause the audience to shiver when reflecting on the subject matter.
The final track of the album, “GREY RUBBLE – GREEN SHOOTS” is the most straightforward in its thematic approach. These are the sounds of destruction and despair, a soundtrack for the aftermath.
Leave a Comment