Godspeed You! Black Emperor: Asunder, Sweet & Other Distress [CONSTELLATION]

Why you'll love it

This 180g Constellation pressing comes in a gatefold sleeve with a download code and a double-sided poster, and side A ends in a locked groove. It was the Montreal collective's follow-up to the Polaris Prize-winning 'Allelujah! Don't Bend! Ascend!

This edition

• 180g vinyl
• Gatefold jacket
• Poster included
• Download card included
• Locked groove on side A

About the album

Godspeed You! Black Emperor have never had much use for short songs, and Montreal loves them for it. Their fifth album runs as four movements across two sides, built from material the band had been shaping on stage, and recorded through all four seasons of 2013 and 2014 in Montréal and Kernersville, North Carolina. Karl Lemieux's 16mm film projections are part of the band's live shows, and he's credited here as a member.

Greg Norman recorded it at the Fidelitorium, Hotel2Tango and The Pines, and Harris Newman mastered it at Greymarket. "Peasantry or 'Light! Inside of Light!'" opens with the full band in full cry, guitars from Efrim Menuck, Mike Moya and David Bryant stacking up over two drummers. "Lambs' Breath" and "Asunder, Sweet" sink into drone and feedback, with Sophie Trudeau's violin drifting through, before "Piss Crowns Are Trebled" climbs back up into one of their great crescendos.

The sleeve is made of a rough card stock that feels oddly like textured plastic. It's the sort of detail you notice while sitting very still with the lights off, which is how this record prefers to be heard.

Also at Kops: more Godspeed You! Black Emperor on vinyl · browse CDN Pop / Rock

Tracklist

Listen

On Constellation (cat# CST111-1), the 2015 album.