G d's Pee at State's End!

Godspeed You! Black Emperor released their sixth studio album, Luciferian Towers, in 2017.{{Cite web |last=Blais-Billie |first=Braudie |date=2 August 2017 |title=Godspeed You! Black Emperor Announce New Album 'Luciferian Towers', Plot Tour |url=https://pitchfork.com/news/godspeed-you-black-emperor-announce-new-album-luciferian-towers-plot-tour/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170802143943/https://pitchfork.com/news/godspeed-you-black-emperor-announce-new-album-luciferian-towers-plot-tour/ |archive-date=2 August 2017 |access-date=16 February 2025 |website=Pitchfork}} It received generally favorable reviews from music critics.{{cite web |title=Reviews and Tracks for Luciferian Towers by Godspeed You! Black Emperor |url=http://www.metacritic.com/music/luciferian-towers/godspeed-you!-black-emperor |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241007094429/http://www.metacritic.com/music/luciferian-towers/godspeed-you!-black-emperor |archive-date=7 October 2024 |accessdate=16 February 2025 |website=Metacritic |publisher=Fandom, Inc.}} They toured in support of the album from December 2017 to April 2018, with additional dates extending through August 2018.{{Cite web |last=Yoo |first=Noah |date=7 November 2017 |title=Godspeed You! Black Emperor Announce 2018 Tour |url=https://pitchfork.com/news/godspeed-you-black-emperor-announce-2018-tour/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171108220732/https://pitchfork.com/news/godspeed-you-black-emperor-announce-2018-tour/ |archive-date=8 November 2017 |access-date=16 February 2025 |website=Pitchfork}}{{Cite web |last=Sacher |first=Andrew |date=4 April 2018 |title=Godspeed You! Black Emperor announce spring/summer tour |url=https://www.brooklynvegan.com/godspeed-you-black-emperor-announce-springsummer-tour/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180404184203/https://www.brooklynvegan.com/godspeed-you-black-emperor-announce-springsummer-tour/ |archive-date=4 April 2018 |access-date=16 February 2025 |website=BrooklynVegan}}

In August 2019, the band played two new songs, "Glacier" and "Cliff", as a part of their live sets for the first time.{{cite web|url=https://spectrumculture.com/2019/08/25/concert-review-godspeed-you-black-emperor-marisa-anderson/|title=Concert Review: Godspeed You! Black Emperor/Marisa Anderson|first=Holly|last=Hazelwood|website=Spectrum Culture|date=25 August 2019|access-date=6 March 2021}} According to a statement by the band, the material for the album was recorded in October 2020.

On 2 March 2021, the band released a video with a minute-long preview of the first track on the album: "A Military Alphabet (five eyes all blind) (4521.0kHz 6730.0kHz 4109.09kHz) / Job's Lament / First of the Last Glaciers / where we break how we shine (Rockets for Mary)".{{cite web|url=https://metalinjection.net/upcoming-releases/godspeed-you-black-emperor-announces-new-album-g_ds-pee-at-states-end|title=GODSPEED YOU! BLACK EMPEROR Announces New Album G_d's Pee AT STATE'S END!|first=Greg|last=Kennelty|date=3 March 2021|website=Metal Injection}}

The following day, 3 March 2021, Constellation Records announced the scheduled release of G_d's Pee at State's End! for 2 April 2021.{{cite web|url=https://exclaim.ca/music/article/godspeed_you_black_emperor_announce_new_album_g_ds_pee_at_states_end|title=Godspeed You! Black Emperor Announce New Album 'G_d's Pee AT STATE'S END!'|last=Hughes|first=Josiah|work=Exclaim!|date=3 March 2021|access-date=3 March 2021}}{{cite web |last1=Monroe |first1=Jazz |title=Godspeed You! Black Emperor Announce New Album G_d's Pee AT STATE'S END! |url=https://pitchfork.com/news/godspeed-you-black-emperor-announce-new-album-g-ds-pee-at-states-end/ |website=Pitchfork |date=3 March 2021}}

As with the band's previous album, Luciferian Towers, a statement including a list of demands was released with the announcement:{{cite web|title=Godspeed You! Black Emperor Announce New Album G_d's Pee AT STATE'S END!|url=https://consequence.net/2021/03/godspeed-you-black-emperor-g_ds-pee-at-states-end/|website=Consequence of Sound|first=Alex|last=Young|date=3 March 2021}}

• empty the prisons
• take power from the police and give it to the neighbourhoods that they terrorise.
• end the forever wars and all other forms of imperialism.
• tax the rich until they're impoverished.

Prior to the release of the album, Constellation Records sent more than a hundred 10-inch vinyl records to independent record stores as review copies, instructing them "to share clips of [the preview] spinning in their stores or homes or wherever they find themselves with a turntable, in isolation or otherwise".

On 27 March 2021, the Saturday before the official release date, the band released an official livestream of the album in its entirety. The music was accompanied by a 16mm projection show from Karl Lemieux and Philippe Leonard, and shot in an empty Cinema Imperial in Montreal. The 16mm projections opened, as is characteristic of the band's live shows, with the word "HOPE" scratched white onto black on celluloid. The show also used footage of pylons, riots, and oil fires alongside the music.{{cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2021/apr/03/godspeed-you-black-emperor-gds-pee-at-states-end-review|title= Godspeed You! Black Emperor: G_d's Pee at State's End! review – requiems for a saner world {{!}} Songs, Reviews, Credits|last=Empire|first=Kitty|publisher=Guardian News & Media Limited|date=3 April 2021|accessdate=3 April 2021}} Such projection shows have long been a component of the band's live performances, but had not been released in an official capacity prior to the livestream.{{cite web|url=https://exclaim.ca/music/article/godspeed_you_black_emperor_will_debut_their_new_album_with_a_special_live_broadcast|title=Godspeed You! Black Emperor Will Debut Their New Album with a Special Film Broadcast|last=Hughes|first=Josiah|work=Exclaim!|date=11 March 2021|accessdate=28 March 2021}}{{cite web|title=Godspeed You! Black Emperor Will Debut Their New Album with a Special Film Broadcast|url=https://www.stereogum.com/2119754/godspeed-you-black-emperor-previewing-new-album-in-livestreamed-event-ahead-of-release/news/|work=Stereogum|first=Chris|last=Deville|date=11 March 2021|accessdate=28 March 2021}} The album was officially released on 2 April.

The album consists of one 12-inch LP and one 10-inch record. It consists of four pieces, two long and two short, a structure used on the band's earlier albums, 'Allelujah! Don't Bend! Ascend! and Luciferian Towers.{{cite web|url=https://www.musicomh.com/reviews/albums/godspeed-you-black-emperor-g_ds-pee-at-states-end|title= Godspeed You! Black Emperor – G_d's Pee AT STATE'S END! {{!}} Songs, Reviews, Credits|last=Johnson|first=Steven|publisher=musicOMH|date=2 April 2021|accessdate=2 April 2021}}{{cite web|url=http://artsatmichigan.umich.edu/ink/2021/04/11/album-review-g_ds-pee-at-states-end-godspeed-you-black-emperor/|title=Album Review: G_d's Pee at State's End! – Godspeed You! Black Emperor|first=Jackson|last=Mott|date=11 April 2021|website=Arts at Michigan|access-date=9 October 2021}}{{cite web|url=https://consequence.net/2021/04/album-review-godspeed-you-black-emperor-gds-pee-at-states-end/|title=Godspeed You! Black Emperor Charge Forward into the Unknown on G_d's Pee AT STATE'S END: Review|last=Ham|first=Robert|date=7 April 2021|website=Consequence of Sound|accessdate=5 July 2021}} On some streaming services (Spotify, Tidal, Amazon Music and Deezer), tracks 1 and 3 on the physical release are split up into their individual movements. On other services, such as Bandcamp, the track listing of the physical releases is retained.

The album makes use of found sound recordings, a stylistic choice which the band is known for but which had been absent in their previous two releases.{{cite web|url=https://exclaim.ca/music/article/godspeed_you_black_emperor_g_ds_pee_at_states_end_album_review|title= Godspeed You! Black Emperor Revisit Past Glories on 'G_d's Pee AT STATE'S END!' {{!}} Songs, Reviews, Credits|last=Bobkin|first=Matt|publisher=Exclaim!|date=2 April 2021|accessdate=1 April 2021}}

The opening movement of the album, "A Military Alphabet (five eyes all blind) [4521.0kHz 6730.0kHz 4109.09kHz]", is a drone accompanied by recordings of shortwave radio transmissions and gunfire.{{cite web|url=https://www.nme.com/reviews/album/godspeed-you-black-emperor-g_ds-pee-at-states-end-review-2911089|title= Godspeed You! Black Emperor – 'G_d's Pee AT STATE's END' review: music for tumultuous times {{!}} Songs, Reviews, Credits|last=Clarke|first=Patrick|publisher=NME|date=2 April 2021|accessdate=31 March 2021}} A simple guitar riff transitions the first movement into the second, titled "Job's Lament". The core of the piece consists of the band's three guitars and two basses. The side closes with the movement "where we break how we shine (ROCKETS FOR MARY)", a recording of birds chirping while guns can be heard in the background.

Following the first long suite is "Fire at Static Valley", the first of the two shorter tracks on the 10-inch LP. The track is made up of drones, delay-heavy guitars, strings, and a kick drum.

The third side is the second large suite. It follows in form to the first also opening with samples of shortwave radio transmissions, and closing with a sample of clanging church bells. Reviewing the album for AllMusic, Paul Simpson assessed the track as "easily the most ecstatically triumphant music {{abbr|GY!BE|Godspeed You! Black Emperor}} have ever made".

The final track and second of the shorter two is a string piece titled "OUR SIDE HAS TO WIN (For D.H.)". The D.H. in the title refers to Dirk Hugsam, the long time European tour agent of the band. Hugsam died in December 2018 and, in addition to the track dedication, was eulogized by band members on the record label's website.{{cite web|url=https://cstrecords.com/rip-dirk-hugsam|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190107115842/https://cstrecords.com/rip-dirk-hugsam|archive-date=7 Jan 2019|title=R.I.P. DIRK HUGSAM}}

{{Music ratings

| MC = 82/100{{cite web|url=https://www.metacritic.com/music/g_ds-pee-at-states-end!/godspeed-you!-black-emperor|title= G_d's Pee AT STATE'S END! by Godspeed You! Black Emperor Reviews and Tracks|publisher=Red Ventures|accessdate=2 April 2021}}

| rev1 = AllMusic

| rev1score = {{Rating|4|5}}{{cite web|url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/g-ds-pee-at-states-end%21-mw0003490337|title= G_d's Pee AT STATE'S END! - Godspeed You! Black Emperor {{!}} Songs, Reviews, Credits|last=Simpson|first=Paul|publisher=All Media Network|date=2 April 2021|accessdate=31 March 2021}}

| rev7 = NME

| rev7score = 8/10

| rev2 = Clash

| rev2score = 8/10

| rev3 = Consequence of Sound

| rev3score = B+

| rev4 = Exclaim!

| rev4score = 7/10

| rev9 = Pitchfork

| rev9score = 8.1/10{{cite web|url=https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/godspeed-you-black-emperor-g-ds-pee-at-states-end/|title= Godspeed You! Black Emperor: G_d's Pee AT STATE'S END! {{!}} Songs, Reviews, Credits|last=Currin|first=Grayson Haver|website=Pitchfork (website)|date=2 April 2021|accessdate=5 April 2021}}

| rev8 = Paste

| rev8score = 8.0/10{{cite web|url=https://www.pastemagazine.com/music/godspeed-you-black-emperor/g-ds-pee-at-states-end-album-review/|title= Godspeed You! Black Emperor Looks Beyond the Apocalypse on G_d's Pee AT STATE'S END {{!}} Songs, Reviews, Credits|last=Cole|first=Jake|publisher=Paste Media Group|date=2 April 2021|accessdate=2 April 2021}}

| rev6 = musicOMH

| rev6score = {{Rating|4|5}}

| rev5 = The Guardian

| rev5score = {{Rating|4|5}}

| rev10 = Record Collector

| rev10score = {{Rating|5|5}}{{cite web|url=https://archive.org/details/record-collector-06.21/page/116/mode/2up|title= Godspeed You! Black Emperor – G_d's Pee AT STATE'S END!{{!}} Songs, Reviews, Credits|last=Harvey|first=Kelly|publisher=Record Collector|date=May 2021|accessdate=4 June 2021}}

}}

At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream publications, the album received an average score of 82 based on 19 reviews, indicating "universal acclaim".

Critics noted G_d's Pee, reintroducing found sound recordings and moving away from the ambient sounds of Luciferian Towers, as a return to form for the band, with Ben Salmon writing for Paste Magazine: "Having zigged for a while, Godspeed zags (of course) on G_d's Pee, bringing back some of the inscrutable elements that made the band so interesting in the first place."

Patrick Clarke of NME said that STATE'S END is a tumultuous record for tumultuous times, but there is a piece of galvanising beauty for every moment of crushing dread. Grayson Haver Currin of Pitchfork portrayed the album as being honest about 'the nonlinear shape of progress, or how winning the war to build a better world inherently entails a lot of devastating loss', even the album in entirety sounded 'more than glibly hopeful'. Writing for The Guardian, Kitty Empire commented that this album is a 'particularly rocking instalment of their familiar franchise; still head and shoulders above most other music that sails under the flag of post-rock'. British music magazine, Record Collector gave the album a full score of 5-star, praising the album as "the declaration of dogged resistance amid what {{abbr|GY!BE|Godspeed You! Black Emperor}} call our 'death-times' battles".

{{clear}}

{{Track listing

| headline = Physical release and digital download

| total_length = 52:38

| title1 = A Military Alphabet (five eyes all blind) (4521.0kHz 6730.0kHz 4109.09kHz) / Job's Lament / First of the Last Glaciers / where we break how we shine (Rockets for Mary)

| length1 = 20:22

| title2 = Fire at Static Valley

| length2 = 5:58

| title3 = {{-"}}Government Came" (9980.0kHz 3617.1kHz 4521.0 kHz) / Cliffs Gaze / cliffs' gaze at empty waters' rise / Ashes to Sea or Nearer to Thee

| length3 = 19:48

| title4 = Our Side Has to Win (for D.H.)

| length4 = 6:30

}}

{{Track listing

| headline = Streaming

| title1 = A Military Alphabet (five eyes all blind) [4521.0kHz 6730.0kHz 4109.09kHz]

| length1 = 4:35

| title2 = Job's Lament

| length2 = 8:02

| title3 = First of the Last Glaciers

| length3 = 5:59

| title4 = where we break how we shine (Rockets for Mary)

| length4 = 1:44

| title5 = Fire at Static Valley

| length5 = 5:58

| title6 = {{-"}}Government Came" (9980.0kHz 3617.1kHz 4521.0 kHz)

| length6 = 11:36

| title7 = Cliffs Gaze / cliffs' gaze at empty waters' rise / Ashes to Sea or Nearer to Thee

| length7 = 8:12

| title8 = Our Side Has to Win (for D.H.)

| length8 = 6:30

}}

• Aidan Girt – sitting drums and standing drums
• David Bryant – electric guitars, MG-1
• Efrim Manuel Menuck – electric guitars, OP-1, radios
• Mauro Pezzente – electric bass
• Michael Moya – electric guitars
• Sophie Trudeau – violins, organ
• Thierry Amar – electric bass and upright bass
• Timothy Herzog – sitting drums and standing drums, glockenspiel
• Karl Lemieux – 16mm projections
• Philippe Leonard – 16mm projections

{{reflist}}

• {{Discogs master}}
• {{MBrgID}}
• [https://cstrecords.com/products/godspeed-you-black-emperor-g_d-s-pee-at-state-s-end G_d's Pee at State's End!] at Constellation Records
• [https://godspeedyoublackemperor.bandcamp.com/album/g-d-s-pee-at-state-s-end G_d's Pee at State's End!] at Bandcamp

{{Godspeed You! Black Emperor}}

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Category:2021 albums

Category:Godspeed You! Black Emperor albums

Category:Articles with underscores in the title

Category:Constellation Records (Canada) albums