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Godspeed You Black Emperor! are the grandest, and most grandiose, socio-musical politico cult since the Nation of Ulysses, the nine-man Québecois combo's conceptual catalyst and vocal aggressor Efrim serving as a most vocal frontman. But it's in A Silver Mt. Zion where he, and the Godspeed! crew as whole, really find their voice; both figuratively, and literally. Initially a trio of GYBE! alumni, ASMZ have now upped their ranks to six players, thereby feeling the need to up their nomenclature to the natty The Silver Mt. Zion Memorial Orchestra & Tra-La-La Band. And, following the soft over-fumbling-piano murmurs of singing that marked the first Silver Mt. Zion record, He Has Left Us Alone, But Shafts of Light Sometimes Grace the Corner of Our Rooms..., here Efrim and crew (aided, in part, by Constellation family tree branch Frankie Sparo) find singing as an integral part of their sound, huge screaming caterwauling choruses marking some of the album's more explosive moments. Like their parent band, ASMZ make their mark deploying fortissimo and crescendo; contrasting their massive, epic, stadia-sized explosions of wailing strings and delay-draped guitars with quiet interludes and soft orchestral passages. This works, and works well, in the most physical of manners; the volume peaks of the pieces rising up from a largely quiet longplayer to come thumping out of the speakers. By starting off quiet, and retreating to quiet, the quietude of most of the record impels the listener to have the volume up loud to compensate; thus, when the "big" moments come, they sound fucking immense, like the staticky explosions of distorted drums and strung-out guitars that bring "C'Mon Come On (Loose an Endless Longing)" to a shrieking climax. But unlike their parent band, ASMZ often find a middle ground; what could be classified as a "pop" entry into the Godspeed! canon, with moments like "The Triumph of Our Tired Eyes" and "Could've Moved Mountains" finding pretty string parts — the latter gorgeous pizzicato pluckings — and a pleading mood and some heartfelt singing. All somewhat lacking in bombastic contrast, but all somewhat better off for it.
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