I FINALLY GET IT! // Godspeed You! Black Emperor - No Title as of 13 Februar... // Composer Reaction

[@Lalupin464]

I have some interpretations of "Babys in a Thundercloud.” 1. I strongly believe that the first half is a stylistic homage to fellow Canadian post-rock band Do Make Say Think. I hear echoes of DMST tracks like “Goodbye Enemy Airships). 2. The title could refer to a poem by Palestinian writer Ghassan Kanafani “I wish children didn’t die. I wish they would be temporarily elevated to the skies until the war ends. Then they would return home safe, and when their parents would ask them, where are you? They would say, we were playing in the clouds.”

[@andrewstarr9648]

2:21:55 Sophie (the violinist) uses guitar effects pedals on her violin. Pretty sure that's how she gets that tremolo sound.

[@arthurhborba1999]

efrim's tone is so beautiful, it feels like the guitar smoked cigarettes for 40 years

[@MagicarpOFFICIAL]

I KNOW WHAT IM DOING TONIGHT HECK YEAH

[@AA-ou2ye]

The ending part of the album is the best one very good and melancholy feeling, also those ghost notes on the snare I really like

[@novasite7795]

Thanks for reviewing! Just downloaded album!

[@Alisonsinks]

YES!!!!! MY ALBUM OF THE YEAR. I WANTED YOU TO REACT TO THIS FOR A WHILE!!!!

[@Mirulkaire]

As for it being spelled as "Babys", the band and their sister projects seem friendly to non-standard spelling and grammar. Some of them stem from deliberate use of Romance language syntax (being from Montréal, they have more exposure to French than other folks in Canada). Other times it reads to me as sarcastic, like in them spelling another word in the tracklist as "Kapital" (possibly in reference to "Das Kapital", since the band members and band are clearly critical of capitalism) or spelling their home country as "Kanada" (...though that might also be from the native word that gave the country its name). Efrim Menuck, who plays guitar in Godspeed, seems to be the one who prefers it. Other bands that have him as member (Silver Mt. Zion; All Hands Make Light; We Are Winter's Blue And Radiant Children) also have titles that look and sound off to anglophones. (edited since I added a word in a band name. oops.)

[@fraidbea]

Yep, Godspeed love their weird deliberate spelling quirks. My interpretation of this one is it emphasizes that every baby in a thundercloud is an individual human being in this world with a family, a short yet worthwhile life, and a potential and right to live a longer life. Yet, their life is smothered unacceptably early in the genocide the album is about, and in the tens if not hundreds of thousands. To me the title implores us to not let these individual human lives become a statistic.

[@thebigpecolaman]

I'm going to see them in march for the, probably, tenth time 🖤

[@Alisonsinks]

im seeing them in Italy too! all of the 3 dates. im also gonna be taping the show, so if you record some footage, would really love to collaborate with you.

[@Lalupin464]

Seeing them in May for the second time

[@theodd9604]

Fantastic live act. I've only witnessed it once so far though.

[@thebigpecolaman]

​@@Alisonsinks I'm going @ OGR in Torino...usually that venue don't allow professional cameras...i think i'm gonna use iphone+zoom h6 :)

[@Alisonsinks]

@@thebigpecolaman you can get professional cameras in if you ask constellation records for a media pass. I’m probably gonna take a gopro to record the show, and a zoom h1n

[@ambassadortourettes753]

Absolutely have always loved this band for endless hours on end... Been a fan since the albums Lift Your Skinny 2000 and Yanqui U.X.O. from 2002... Id be chilling working at the record store and these guys were of the few we all could agree to just put in those two albums back to back on the store stereo when we all were tired of listening to each other's turns/picks on the stereo.... We all loved taking a break with them as the compromise.... You should consider doing a reaction on The Dirty Three to toss that in my friend you will get similar vibes.... I do not even mind the lack of blast beats

[@ColombianThunder]

Weird to say this about an album that's topic is so recent and devastating but it's my favorite of last year. I say that because I would prefer it didn't exist at all. But it has to. And it's so emotionally moving and cathartic. There must be hope.

[@Lukas_Kramer]

Excited to read that title !

[@MagicarpOFFICIAL]

Update: Finished the video, and I felt the same way when I finished it. I found it to be a supremely overpowering experience, and it's one of my favorite albums of last year. Some additional info for you: The first track and the second track are together, and the last three tracks are together, making this a three song album. I believe they were known to the community as flames, flowers, and feathers, with raindrops cast in lead being shortened slightly for the album. However, one of my friends has the vinyl version of this and says that despite it being good already, there's a hidden 13 minute ambient outro to the album in the form of a reprise of grey rubble green shoots that takes it to the status of top 3 godspeed albums. I haven't found this ambient outro on youtube yet, but I'll look for it when I finish this comment. This album represents to me both a distillation of their sound insofar as making it more accessible and easy to understand, and also represents an exploration of the types of builds they create; The 7/8 groove in Pale Spectator is one of their best works imo, and I want to see them venture more into odd time territory. Raindrops Cast in Lead felt middling to me on my listens, but your analysis really helped me see it in a better light! Always look forward to your videos, particularly album reviews.

[@MagicarpOFFICIAL]

Was not able to find the outro song online, hopefully it'll be uploaded soon!

[@ecodefense4728]

Beautiful analysis of an beautiful album. Funny thing is I think you'd have a similar reaction to most of their albums if you listened to them as a whole instead of individual tracks. The titles, the artwork, the liner notes all give you a frame of reference. Their albums have always felt like movies to me, and they make so much more "sense" when you engage with them from beginning to end.

[@DerekPower]

Ah GY!BE So the record has more music than the CD/streaming version: Side D is an untitled piece that functions as an extended reprise (additional 13 minutes) of “Grey Rubble - Green Shoots”. Even so, it seems to strike a balance between brevity and grandeur. There are instances of words in the GYBE discography but they are almost always field recordings. I think there is one instance where you hear someone in the band actually singing a song (first section of “Antennas to Heaven”) but that was a recording out in the wild. (There may be something from All Lights but I forget). They’ve always been seen as “cinematic sounding”. And probably the most directly cinematic they’ve been is the “The Dead Flag Blues” section in F# A# ♾️ where a man reads from an unfinished script Efrim Menuck wrote. “Raindrops Cast in Lead” sounds like a spiritual sequel to the “Monheim” section of “Sleep” from Lift Yr Skinny Fists. “Pale Spectator Takes Photographs” has been described as a sequel to “Mladic” from the Hallejuah! album (which was known for a long time as “Albanian”). In general, I can’t stand their politics, yet I have tremendous mad respect and admiration for them musically. And I’m sure I’ve said in other instances, they definitely played a role in my own music endeavours =].

[@Alisonsinks]

Usually they compose all together. One person brings an idea and they build it up by improvising. The violin and bass player are the main music brains behind music theory though.

[@Alisonsinks]

Also yes, Efrim uses a ton of delay on his guitar, so you're right about that

[@Alisonsinks]

They played sun is a hole at every show of this tour right after an improvisation branded "hope drone" by fans. So it does feel like them gearing up and getting their instruments ready

[@Alisonsinks]

on babys in a thundercloud, the guitar feedback is probably created through a wah pedal, along with the delay, reverb, octave pedals(and some others I forgot)

[@Alisonsinks]

the violin the middle is a tad bit louder live, when I saw them it made me cry a lot

[@Alisonsinks]

to me track feels like a flower reaching through the rubble, even after all the destruction and danger, hope gets all of us through it, and even if the event isn't over, it will be, and the track is reaching for that peace, fighting the conflict

[@johnseward2934]

This album was in my top 5 for the year. Exceptional performance and song writing that I think is some of GSY!BE best. The story it creates sonically is so emotionally charged and vivid and illustrative of the reality its conjuring up. Parts of it bring tears to my eyes as it straddles the slippery line between crushing sorrow/loss/destruction and the strength of hope/rebirth/innocence. I do think sometimes you may need to step away from the more technical and critical listening to be more ensconced in the emotional and metaphorical side of the music.

[@AA-ou2ye]

As far as post rock go U really need to ot a full album reaction to the Japanese band mono and the album Hymn to the Immortal Wind.

[@JordanPeacock]

Yanqui U.X.O. still is probably my favorite, but this work speaks to me, as well.

[@theodd9604]

Lovely reaction to the album. Need to listen it again with a context.

[@jmpsthrufyre]

James Plotkin Red Plateau

[@AA-ou2ye]

What I like about this band is every track can go everywhere U never know where it will take you. This album in particular I find it little too much lofi. They have had albums with a production with more weight to it.

[@shoppingcartrecords]

Hey Bryan, big supporters over here. Great video and channel! We'd love to see you do a review of our very own Carter Brady's 'Shopping Cart' rock album! Like or respond to this message if you're interested and hoping to hear from you!

[@CriticalReactions]

Yeah, that sounds like a blast. Email me at "criticalreactions (at) pm (dot) me" and we'll discuss it.