YANQUI U.X.O.

I recall the sound of the debut album describing what the apocalypse would look like. I recalled the sound of this album describing the apocalypse right before it happens. This is the most shadowy album I have ever heard.

What splits this album from the preceding couple is the absence of dialogue. Ironically, the music has stepped it up. From the ambient intro of '09-15-00', I was very excited about how the rest of the song would pan out. The typical bombastic climax the music eventually climbs into featuring some harsh strings is replaced by a more sustained and slower tempo fuller-ensemble. The music is never supposed to sway your emotions, but just keep you down, the excitement just makes you sit and wait for the end.

'Rockets Fall on Rocket Falls' displays the kind of music I would think of if a bombing was occurring. A plucked guitar and violin intro do not last too long on this track before it gets moving into a haunting bombardment of drums, droned guitar and daft strings. This piece has many different movements that I can't keep describe so feeblish, but there are some nice things added in this song besides its unpredictable structure, like horns and percussions.

'Motherfucker=Redeemer' is my favorite on the album by just a hair. I just love the Jewish celebration music that slowly oozes its way in right after a small intro. It stays for a while and makes itself back into the piece time to time, and more varied each time it makes its presence. This track can sum up everything Godspeed has included during their short career. It is mostly a guitar driven track, peculiar for Godspeed since one instrument is never really dominant. The guitar leads the pieces in many different ways whether it would have a flanged/ambient tone, harsh dissonance, tremolo picked or just a straight up, well, guitar sound. Godspeed's most diverse track that is ironically their longest.

Really dark, I mean, realllly dark album. It serves its purpose. If you want something that will really make you feel down, this is it.

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