How come Yanqui was received the way it was? Sure, it took a few listens, but it's grown to be one of my favorite Godspeed albums. Easily better than F#A#∞ and Slow Riot, although nothing quite tops Lift Your Skinny Fists.
So what's the issue? Why don't people seem to like it as much as the band's other works?
>easily better than F#A#∞
I share a board with you. I'm gonna let that sink in and then come back
I agree with you man, it's the only Godspeed album I decided to get on vinyl. It's my favorite.
I think it's because they didn't really change up their sound and they had already released several similar albums. But it's still a "bold" album on RYM so I guess a lot of people like it
the only critic who matters, piero scaruffi, awarded it the same rating he did all other godspeed records. really made me think.
Listen, I'm not saying it's bad at all, but every single track on Yanqui gives me chills. F#A#∞ is amazing, and it has plenty of "holy shit" moments, namely Dead Metheny on Providence and the entire last half of Dead Flag Blues, but 09-15-00 Pt I, Rockets Fall on Rocket Falls, and both parts of Motherfucker=Redeemer are at or near the level of F#'s peaks. Midway into 09-15-00 especially just blows me away.
Damn...
Probably the lack of vocals pissed meme lords off.
I agree with you; Rockets is one of their biggesr bangers and 09 and mother fucker are both masterpieces. Only ranks below LYSF and Allelujah.
this and it also doesn't rely on ambient samples, just music
Lift Your Skinny Fists and Allelujah are their best by far. Mladic, We Drift Like Worried Fire, Storm, and Sleep are actual masterpieces and I will never get tired of listening to them.
>Easily better than F#A#∞
Not at all
But it is a great record. It just doesn't have that really distinctive atmosphere that the other records have. LYSF with its pure hope and profound sense of wonder, and F# with its bleak, desolate, impending doom-type feeling. Yanqui just isn't as overwhelming in its emotions, and is kind of understated. I wouldn't pick a favourite godspeed record but Yanqui would not be it,
Then again, those might be the exact reasons you love the record, which would be why we differ
just read his reviews on Godspeed. I can see where he's coming from, but a lot of his descriptions that he used negatively are things that *draw* me to their works.
I realize my wording may have been too strong, as it's hard for me to really dislike a Godspeed record. I started listening to F#A#∞ again after posting and I'm reminded of the specific things that make me love it.
And that's something I should've said and kept in mind: every record they put out has at least a decently different feel to it. LYSF has the sweeping highs and desperate lows, F# has the dark, brooding, oppressive sound, Allelujah has a very panicked, frantic pace to it.
Yanqui is understated, and it's hard for me to describe it well without going into the actual imagery it inspires while I'm listening to it, but generally it gives me this feeling of 'you are at the brink of destruction, please turn back.' As it goes on, you realize you disregarded the warning and now everything is fucked and you get to sit and watch as it all crumbles around you, and at the end you have a few moments to reflect on how fucking stupid you were, before everything fades and it doesn't matter anymore.
Those feelings and images are why I love it as much as I do, and why it took more listens for me to love it than it did with F#A#∞ or LYSF.
Don't forget Static. Antennas is underrated too, and the perfect closer to LYSF
I only mentioned Storm and Sleep because of the beautiful moments they have, but yeah, the darker moments on Static and Antennas are amazing. She Dreamt She Was a Bulldozer especially. And the woman talking about the light of God and heaven gives me nervous chills every time I listen.
LYSG > Allelujah > Yanqui UXO > Slow Riot > ASOD > F#A#
Not to disparage their debut. But I never found it as musically attractive as any other of their releases
Tbh I think "antennas to heaven" is the best song I've ever heard.
It is just perfect. I have shivers for all the fckin song.
Just an opinion
That'd be my list, except F#A#∞ beats out Asunder Sweet for me. Peasantry or Light Inside of Light is a badass opener, and Piss Crowns has some really strong moments, but it's not as powerful as their other work, imo.
Pretty solid list
ASOD often seems lacking because, well, it's really just a single piece sold as an album. I think it works much better as a followup disc to Allelujah than as a standalone album
>but generally it gives me this feeling of 'you are at the brink of destruction, please turn back.'
Damn that's a really good way to put it. I suppose it really evokes a plethora feelings that can be hard to define. To be honest it's the album I listen to least but when I do go back to it, it really gets under my skin.
When Rockets Fall on Rocket Falls goes silent half way through and you just hear that quiet drum beat with woodwinds over it, damn, it really can be
With that said, I can't think of a single moment on Yanqui that comes close to first crescendo of Sleep. The wailing, screeching guitars and the beautiful strings with the simple drum pattern is just emotionally draining in its impact.
Nothing will ever beat the final crescendo on Sleep. 18 minutes in, I still tear up a bit listening to it.
I'm not saying Yanqui tops that or even comes close, but it has its powerful moments. Halfway into Rockets, halfway into 09 pt1, the first half of Motherfucker pt1, the second half of motherfucker pt2. They all are badass and strong as fuck, and it bothers me a little to hear some of the people I talk to dismiss Yanqui as 'too similar to their other stuff' or 'weak'.
>I talk to dismiss Yanqui as 'too similar to their other stuff' or 'weak'.
Yeah, that's fucking stupid. I feel like people only say this because the mood isn't so immediately obvious and it sticks to the same song structures as their previous albums. There's a real diverse range of instrumentation, and like you said, some phenomenal moments that are really nothing like anything else they've done
The reason it sucked was because Steve Albini sucks massive amounts of cock when it comes to production. Hotel2Tango was great for capturing the right atmosphere. It was way more dynamic because the quiet parts mattered far more then on this album.
Then Albini came and was like "I cant get a clear mic on the violin plus its bleeding everywhere but I make garage production, right guys? Analog is pretty great? Right guys? Tape tape tape tape." And then the eternal faggot overcompressed everything and over saturaded the fuck out of every instrument and then you have something like
>sounds impressive n loud
>is shit beyond that
Also
- no field recordings
- marching drums throughout the whole record