YANQUI U.X.O.

Yanqui UXO is Godspeed's most recent, and probolbly their last (what a shame) but this attempt dosnt have the same quality as their other two albums do. The sound produced on Yanqui UXO is simalar to Lift... but their isnt the raw emotion and quality put into the compositions. It feels like they got really lazy with this album, as it is EXTREMELY repeditive, and can get quite annoying. Dont get me wrong though (I can listen to Sigur Ros's ( ) twice in a row, and Im still entertained) I love ambiant music, as long as the quality is there.

9-15-00 (part one) 4/10 - This one isnt terrible. The texturing of tremalo guitar under the other instruments is interesting, but it gets really repeditive. The original theme builds and falls and builds to a climax where it tapers off into the next song. Good ideas, but they didnt take them anywhere.

9-15-00 (part two) 7/10 - I like this one. Its slow and ambiant, but the raw emotion and mood really draws my attention. They also didnt drag it out for 15+ minutes.

Rockets Fall on Rocket Falls 3/10 - the "3" out of ten comes directly from the first six minutes, which are very good. Its fast paced and a heavy wall of sound which creates the greatest images. Though, once this dies down, they make some mid range dronging noise layered over low pitched droning noise for another fourteen minutes ?!?!?! Im sorry, its pretty lazy to fill up space on a record like that. I never listened to the entire song again all the way through after the third listen or so

Mother****er = Redeemer (Part One) 8/10 - My favorite song on the album. The song builds like 9-15-00 does, but they take the song somewhere by adding some new themes and ideas. The climax of the song is much more powerful and conveys an intense amount of emotion. The song falls again, and this time, Godspeed suceeds at filling up the last 10 or so minutes. The tremolo guitar comes back, but this time, the band supports it and plays off of the theme to make it interesting. The ending is also very emotional.

Mother****er = Redeemer (Part Two) 4/10 - This is where the album should have just ended, because it starts to really drag on. The themes in this song sound really simalar to everything else in the album. The distored guitar drones are cool, but there isnt anything new here. The violin sounds very harsh about half way through the song, like its out of tune or something. I mostly skip this song when I listen to it.

The production is fairly clearer on this album than previous Godspeed albums though which is a plus. The song composing is not anywhere near the quality on F#A# Infinity or Lift... and the ideas and sounds on this album are very single colored. There isnt very much variety on this album. It has some nice moments though, and I think any Godspeed or Post Rock/Metal fan should give it a spin.

Highlights: Mother****er = Redeemer (Part One), 9-15-00 (part two), The first six minutes of Rockets Fall on Rocket Falls

Letdowns: The last fourteen minutes of Rockets Fall on Rocket Falls, Mother****er = Redeemer (Part Two)

I hope they come back and release a better one! 2.4/5

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