'Allelujah! Don't Bend! Ascend!

'Allelujah! Don't Bend! Ascend!
Studio album by Godspeed You! Black Emperor
Released	1 October 2012 (2012-10-01)[1]
Recorded	2011[2]
Studio	Hotel2Tango, Montreal ("Mladic" and "We Drift Like Worried Fire") and the band's studio ("Their Helicopters' Sing" and "Strung Like Lights at Thee Printemps Erable"), mixed at The Pines
Genre	Post-rock, drone
Length	53:09[3]
Label	Constellation
Producer	Thierry Amar, David Bryant, Howard Bilerman, Efrim Menuck, and Mike Moya
Godspeed You! Black Emperor chronology
Yanqui U.X.O. (2002) ‍ '​Allelujah! Don't Bend! Ascend! (2012) Asunder, Sweet and Other Distress (2015)

‍ '​Allelujah! Don't Bend! Ascend! is the fourth studio album by Canadian post-rock band Godspeed You! Black Emperor, released in 2012. After re-forming in 2010, the group went on tour and silently released the album at a concert in Boston^[4] on 1 October 2012, with official release dates on 15 October in Europe and the following day in other countries.^[1] The album has received positive reviews and has been heralded as a comeback for the collective. The album won the 2013 Polaris Music Prize.^[5]

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
Metacritic	81/100 (34 reviews)[6]
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	[7]
A.V. Club	B+[8]
BBC Music	Favourable[9]
Drowned in Sound	[10]
Consequence of Sound	[11]
The Gazette (Montreal)	[12]
The Guardian	[13]
The Observer	[14]
Pitchfork Media	9.3/10[15]
This Is Fake DIY	[16]
Spin	[17]
Sputnikmusic	[18]
Tiny Mix Tapes	[19]
The Skinny	[20]
Paste	8.9/10[21]
Beats Per Minute	[22]
Popmatters	[23]
musicOMH	[24]
Louder Than War	[25]

Eli Kleman of Sputnikmusic stated that the album has "immeasurable breadth and depth" and is a "truly unforgettable experience."^[18] Drowned in Sound's Andrzej Lukowski said that the release is "a modestly magnificent record that entirely validates" the band reforming.^[10] Mark Richardson of Pitchfork Media also draws a connection between the group's entire output, finishing his review by calling this "an album of music that is both new and old from a band that we thought we might never hear from again, one we should appreciate while we can."^[15] Tyler Kane of Paste gave the album an 8.9 out of 10, writing that, "the time-tested tracks not only showcase the band doing what they do best in notoriously long, dramatic, panic-inducing instrumentals but are also startling reminders on why the band was so vital and lead such a movement to begin with."^[21] The Guardian‍ '​s Dom Lawson gave the album 5 out of 5 stars, because "the Godspeed ethos of wordlessly eliciting universal truths is remains as devastatingly effective as ever".^[13]

The album was listed 13th on Stereogum's list of top 50 albums of 2012.^[26]

The album won the 2013 Polaris Music Prize on 23 September 2013.^[27]

Track listing

The vinyl edition of the album packages the lengthier tracks "Mladic" and "We Drift Like Worried Fire" on a 12" LP accompanied by a 7" featuring the shorter, "drone" tracks "Their Helicopters' Sing" and "Strung Like Lights at Thee Printemps Erable".^[3] On the 12"'s inner sleeve there are instructions regarding which order the sides are to be played as this differs from most vinyl albums. The vinyl track listing is, in fact: A1 ("Mladic"), B1 ("Their Helicopters' Sing"), A2 ("We Drift Like Worried Fire") and B2 ("Strung Like Lights at Thee Printemps Erable"). The CD edition of the album compiles all four tracks on a single disc.^[3] "Mladic" and "We Drift Like Worried Fire" are re-workings of previously unreleased live tracks formerly known as "Albanian" and "Gamelan", which have been performed live as far back as 2003.^[3]

Compact Disc

1. "Mladic" – 20:00
2. "Their Helicopters' Sing" – 6:30
3. "We Drift Like Worried Fire" – 20:07
4. "Strung Like Lights at Thee Printemps Erable" – 6:32

12" (A)

1. "Mladic" – 19:53
2. "We Drift Like Worried Fire" – 19:57

7" (B)

1. "Their Helicopters' Sing" – 6:24
2. "Strung Like Lights at Thee Printemps Erable" – 6:25

Personnel

Godspeed You! Black Emperor^[28]

• Thierry Amar – bass guitar, double bass, keyboards, recording and mixing on "Their Helicopters' Sing" and "Strung Like Lights at Thee Printemps Erable"
• David Bryant – electric guitar, dulcimer, Portasound, kemençe, recording and mixing on "Their Helicopters' Sing" and "Strung Like Lights at Thee Printemps Erable", photography
• Bruce Cawdron – drums, vibraphone, marimba, glockenspiel
• Aidan Girt – drums
• Karl Lemieux – 16mm frames artwork, photography
• Efrim Menuck – electric guitar, hurdy-gurdy, recording and mixing on "Their Helicopters' Sing" and "Strung Like Lights at Thee Printemps Erable", photography
• Mike Moya – electric guitar, recording and mixing on "Their Helicopters' Sing" and "Strung Like Lights at Thee Printemps Erable"
• Mauro Pezzente - bass guitar
• Sophie Trudeau - violin, Casio SK-5

Technical personnel^[28]

• Howard Bilerman – recording on "Mladic" and "We Drift Like Worried Fire"
• Charles-André Coderre – cover photo
• Yannick Grandmont – photography
• Timothy Herzog – "Atonal Canada" photo
• Harris Newman at Greymarket – mastering

Charts

References

External links

• Press release
• Stream of the album