Godspeed You Black Emperor! - Slow Riot For New Zero Kanada EP (Album Review)

 

Godspeed You Black Emperor! - Slow Riot For New Zero Kanada EP

(1999)


My copy: 2004 reissue by Constellation.


While this two track release came about in between GY!BE’s most famous records, it contains some of their all time greatest work. Somewhat of a transitional record, Slow Riot For New Zero Kanada turns the atmospheric darkness of their debut into crescendo focused roller coasters. 

“Moya” is a contender for their best song of all-time: it begins low and guttural with patient string arrangements slithering about in the dark. Tense, conflicted violins cry out until the boiling anxiety releases into melodic guitar strums. The glockenspiel takes away from the immersion a bit, but its bright chirp helps to rebuild the anticipation. The drums kick in, rearranging the piece into a grand wave of instruments. The guitar turns to tremolo before the melodies become complex and dramatic, building and building with fast paced drum rolling. The song cracks with an ultimate fever-pitch, smashing into a wonderful and furious payoff that sets the bar high for future imitators. The track then falls back down into a reflective progression like peace after a storm. 

The second track is longer, and more complicated as it centers around field recordings of its titular character “Blaise Bailey Finnegan III” or just “BBF3.” The man speaks of his disdain for the American government as far off harmonics twinkle with swaying, uneasy strings. The music grows in volume and changes chords when BBF3 says something of particular note, including his tale of telling off a judge while paying a speeding ticket. The 17-minute song is a much slower burn, but makes satisfying use of bass drums that pound through the mid-section of the track with burning tremolo. BBF3 comes in again to list off his collection of firearms before reciting a poem that’s mostly taken from an Iron Maiden song (which is also the likely source of the man’s alias). It’s unclear if BBF3 is a real person or a planned bit, but he makes for an interesting centerpiece and is also featured on their debut. The track itself goes on to explode into its own slower, more methodical crescendo before fading away to an otherworldly serenade of strings and ethereal ambiance. 

Slow Riot For New Zero Kanada just might be the de-facto “crescendo-core” record, meaning it has manipulated post-rock into a new standard that focuses on obvious buildups and payoffs. Still, GY!BE were some of the first to popularize this style, and they did it damn well. The album is nothing short of amazing, unless you are some kind of impatient pop-fan or a snobbish post-rock purist, neither of which are enviable positions.

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