YANQUI U.X.O.

Yanqui UXO, for a long time, was my bedtime album. Whenever I had difficulty going to sleep, I'd put this on and by the time the main riff starts building up in 9-15-00 (Part 1), I'd be out. It's not that it's necessarily a boring album, or that it's based more in ambient than the others, but it is nowhere near as stimulating as its forerunner, Lift Your Skinny Fists Like Antennas to Heaven.

Yanqui UXO lacks the atmosphere that made its predecessors stand out. F#A#Infinity had mood, this album has more compositional value, and Skinny Fists had both. The glorious post-rock crescendos of Yanqui UXO are still satisfying to reach after the trademark lengthy buildup, the layering of riffs and gradual intensifying of each movement done well with the band taking everything they can get from a theme. Also woven into the album are many ambient portions (no samples this time) that help to break up and emphasize the post-rock parts. But something is missing; Yanqui UXO provokes no emotion like the previous GY!BE albums did. It's hard to pinpoint exactly what atmosphere is and how to create it, but that aspect is gone from this release.

Yanqui is worthwhile, though maybe only after listening to some of the band's other offerings first. Their weakest, musically competent but lacking the extra factor that made Skinny Fists so incredible, is still good.