was procrastinating a lot for a while and I've also been having some scary thoughts lately that have really distracted me from doing stuff, but I'm doing a lot better now so I thought I'd make one of these. 1. Godspeed You Black Emperor! - F♯ A♯ ∞ [CD] (1998) This might be my new favorite of theirs. It's the perfect number of songs, and apart from Providence (coming in at just over 29 minutes) they're all pretty short usually no longer than 15 minutes. I'd say in composition it's about 60% music and 40% miscellaneous dialog and field recordings, but it's all very interesting stuff. Each song on the album has a similar motif, and I think all 3 of them are written in F# or A# (shocker) and follow a similar structure, with the first part of the song containing some type of dialog and the second being a drumless instrumental section or ambience, then there's the fully formed part of the song with the whole band that starts small but crescendoes and then goes back down again, before ending with some type of drone or musical epilogue. The only one that breaks this structure is Providence, which has 2 parts with singing on it (not from the band, although they do some wordless vocalizations on East Hastings at some point), and there's a 3-minute break of silence at the very end before a hidden track that is so punk rock it could probably make someone who's never heard them before wonder if it's still the same band. The whole album's theme is obvious, it's very apocalyptic and desolate, but somehow, there still manage to be a few hopeful, happy(ish) parts, such as The Cowboy and Outro on The Dead Flag Blues. This album is devastating; make no mistake about that, but good god it is some incredible music. Powerful. Rating: 10/10 Favorite tracks: All of them, but specifically TDFB Intro, The Cowboy, The Sad Mafioso, Dr_gs in Tokyo, Divorce and Fever, Kicking Horse on Brokenhill, and String Loop... 2. Godspeed You Black Emperor! - Slow Riot for New Zero Kanada (1999) This is sort of like F# A# but way shorter and way sadder. The first song is only 10 minutes long, but so unbelievably heavy. Such an opener. Very string oriented, and never until now have I loved the way a violin sounds so much. Even though there's 2 songs on here, the first one transitions into the next one, so I like to think of the whole EP as one 28-minute-long composition. The second song is a little less fleshed out as the first but does eventually fill its shoes by the end. It starts with some Northeastern guy yelling about the government while the song builds. Then it gets quiet and picks up again, and then it gets quiet again. Then the guy comes back but he's talking about how many guns he has and then reads a poem that's actually just Iron Maiden lyrics. Then it swells again and then it ends with some weird ghostly sounds. It's basically F# A# but a little less hopeful but also slightly more hopeful at the same time. Like a DLC for the first album almost. Once again, perfection. Rating: 10/10 Favorite tracks: Both of them, but specifically the beginning and end of Moya and the end of BBF3 (Note: For a more enhanced experience I recommend listening to F# A# and then immediately putting on Slow Riot)
3. Q and Not U - No Kill No Beep Beep (2000) Probably talked about this one before, but I wanna talk about it again. This is probably my #1 commute album of the past 3 months. I've listened to it at least once a day multiple times a week. It's centered around a dancey math rock sound with some very strange guitar sounds and complicated riffs and just... strange lyrics. They're so weird. Here's a couple: "Since we breathe clock and telephone, basement fires keep us so alive. Confetti on the escalator steps. Get set, phone calls, clock and TV sets." "Congratulations! Now put the knife back in the medicine cabinet." "Inside the convex lens. We all crash new jet planes tonight." I'm sure there's a meaning to them somehow but I just like the music. It's not too heavy, sometimes it's pretty wimpy and jangly but overall keeps up a good groove. The singing is really interesting as well. One guy sings cleanly and the other guy just sort of shouts unintelligibly. It's just some silly math rock/post-hardcore shenanigans, and frankly, has aged really well. Rating: 10/10 Favorite tracks: All of them 4. Harvey Danger - Where Have All the Merrymakers Gone? (1997) This band and this album are very "I think I'm smarter than I say I am" coded, but not in a bad way. Just a way where every line is a little longer than it should be. This album is basically a combination of the lyrics of Pavement and Dismemberment Plan, the guitar tone of Hum, and a mixture of a few elements of Green Day songwriting. Quite a few random lyrics but they sound pretty cool. Hard to describe what they remind me of but all their songs are pretty simplistic but manage to sound great. I think it's truly the lyrics that make the songs. Great album, glad I discovered it. Ranking 9/10 Favorite tracks: Carlotta Valdez, Flagpole Sitta, Woolly Muffler, Private Helicopter, Problems and Bigger Ones, Old Hat 5. Geese - Getting Killed (2025) Don't really need too much explanation for this one. Some of the craziest sounds that have ever been compiled into a recording. Imagine Person Pitch by Panda Bear but jazzy and with more electric guitar grooves and just confusing time signatures. Cameron Winter has some of the strangest vocal stylings I've ever heard with his range and his approach to singing. Thom Yorke's falsetto meets Stephen Malkmus' drawl and screams and pure confusing lyrics. One of the greatest albums I've ever heard. THERE'S A BOMB IN MY CAAAAAAAAAAAR! Rating: 10/10 Favorite tracks: All of them, but particularly Trinidad, Husbands, Getting Killed, Islands of Men, Au Pays, and Taxes
