Godspeed you

Black Emperor--

Slow Riot for New Zero Kanada

(Kranky)

When you want the best in Canadian chamber-rock, go straight to the source-- Godspeed You Black Emperor!

And before you ask "what the heck is Canadian chamber-rock?" let me just say it's as valid (if not more so) a genre description now as "Disco" was in 1978.

So let's get started.

Godspeed You Black Emperor! make punk rock for art students-- nine folks

banging away on violins, cellos, glockenspiels, and such, in addition to the

usual guit / bass / drums found in most dynamic rock units.

But the chamber influence is definitely there, and bless their hearts, they've produced an excellent 29-minute followup to last year's wily collection entitled

(appropriately enough) f# a#infinity .

There are two songs on Slow Riot for New Zero Kanada, both similar in

nature and quite in tune with the general Godspeed formula: long passages that build upon a haunting theme, repetition over drone, until crescendo is reached, then denouement. Tension and release. Tension and release. Stop and have a cigarette. Tension and release. Chilling end.

"BBF 3," the second song, takes a bit longer to reach the melting point because there are some belligerent spoken-word bits ("field recordings") thrown in to add to the prevalent moodiness of the record. But it's all the same in the end-rocking out hard, string section flailing, drums pounding, glockenspiel glockenspieling-- you know the drill.

Anyone who is a fan of Rachels’ more volatile moments will

certainly appreciate this record, as it is very reminiscent of them, and that sound (sans the piano). Anyone who has not yet heard either Godspeed or Rachel's is

advised to check them out immediately. And for those folks familiar with f#

a#infinity but is wondering if this will also satisfy-- of course it will.

It may not be even be wholly incorrect to to say Godspeed You Black Emperor!

have written only one song in their short recorded career thus far, but it's

such a moving song...why mess with tweaked perfection?

-- Dominic DeVito