Ever since they first appeared, fully formed, with 1997’s stunning F♯ A♯ ∞, Montreal’s Godspeed You! Black Emperor have been at their most potent when embellishing apocalyptic post-rock soundscapes with incongruous flashes of vulnerability and beauty. So it perhaps isn’t hugely surprising that their first album in three years sees them become one of the few western acts to release music that explicitly references the humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza, from the blunt album title through to the press release’s reference to “every day a new war crime, every day a flower bloom”.
Musically, this is their strongest set since 2002’s Yanqui UXO, the three songs that pass the 10-minute mark particularly stirring. Raindrops Cast in Lead builds slowly via a repeating motif on distorted guitar, before a gentle interlude precedes a squalling climax that is far more Sturm than Drang. Album closer Grey Rubble – Green Shoots ends more contemplatively, with Sophie Trudeau’s violin to the fore, the band taking a step back from the abyss. Bold, brave and brilliant.
