Godspeed You! Black Emperor’s music doesn’t have words, but that’s not because they don’t have anything to say. The Montreal post-rock ensemble’s sixth full-length, Luciferian Towers, pulls no punches with its political messaging. It features anarchistic song titles like Bosses Hang and Anthem For No State, and an accompanying press release that calls for an end to national borders and the prison-industrial complex.
The group has been wading into politics from the beginning, but with their themes of anti-capitalism and anti-isolationism it’s easy to imagine which world leaders have likely inspired Godspeed’s ire as of late. The bleak black and white photos that appear in the album artwork suggest that we may be headed towards an apocalyptic future. (This vision becomes more plausible with each presidential Rocket Man tweet.)
As you’d expect from a record born out of modern anxiety, it begins in sinister fashion with the skulking Undoing A Luciferian Towers, which is made of dissonant drones and militaristic drum rolls. It’s an eerie opener, particularly when the squalling horns coalesce into an Eastern-inflected final passage.
The rest of the album, however, favours emotional complexity over pure miserabilism. Bosses Hang is a majestic suite that’s split across three tracks. Over the course of nearly 15 minutes, it shifts from swooning cinematic riffs to a hypnotic vamp. It ultimately swells to a triumphant crescendo, its bittersweet beauty at odds with the violent title.
Fam/Famine is less intense but similarly gorgeous, with a drone of strings that shimmers while an elegiac orchestral motif emerges through a billowing fog. The album-ending Anthem For No State is another three-part suite, with fuzz-bomb rock crescendos that are contrasted by lilting violins.
The spoken snippets and field recordings that used to be a staple of Godspeed’s sound are absent, with the focus now placed squarely on the group’s lush arrangements. Recording was handled by Greg Norman (who also captured 2015’s Asunder, Sweet And Other Distress), and the pristine production captures the ornate grandeur of the arrangements.
The wistful elegance of the music makes Luciferian Towers a peculiarly gorgeous portrayal of our threatening political reality. Xenophobia is on the rise and we seem to be on the brink of nuclear war, but at least we’ve got this album to provide the soundtrack.
Top track: Bosses Hang, Pt. 1
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