YANQUI U.X.O.

more of the same here. Godspeed, surprisingly haven't run out of ideas, they still manage to create unique, interesting instrumentals on this album. These are pieces of beauty. This album has some noticeable differences to the rest. One of the main differences i found was the lack of trippy effects, and voiceovers. Every release before this uses them but this one does not. I don't know if this means the band are maturing or not. They could be trying to carry their sound into a new direction.

GYBE! certainly sound a lot more confident here, perhaps producing their darkest work to date. Most tracks use less optimistic sounds, there are lots of droning bass sounds, orchestrated well amongst other instruments. The bass sound really stands out on this album, especially on "Rockets Fall on Rocket Falls".

The song titles suggest a darker edge, with more negativity, especially the viciously named "motherfucker=redeemer" parts. Whilst their previous albums gave me a vast impression of beauty, this album suggests more apocalyptic and destructive soundscapes, in true GYBE! style. Even so, i think this is beauty in it's own right.

This album is just as demanding as their previous efforts. I found this one to be the least accessible as it can be difficult to be gripped into this album. I think that maybe it is the lack of familiar sound effects and voiceovers that add to this albums struggle, still it is a very interesting piece and definetly a brilliant piece, just short of a masterpiece. One advantage about this album is that clearly tried to make their music less dominated by effects and voiceovers. This one definetly reveals their pure musical talent in a much stronger light. It also shows how well a nine piece band of muscians can arrange instrumentals that can last around 20 minutes. A very original and inspiring concept!

This album is definetly worth a look. I loved the other 3 albums and this is no exception but dont be surprised if this album doesn't get as many listens as the others. I think their other albums, "Lift Your Skinny Fists Like Antennas to Heaven" especially, are arguably more memorable than this album. "Yanqui UXO" specialises in subtlety and is more for the true Godspeed fan.