Lift Yr. Skinny Fists Like Antennas to Heaven!

This album is a masterpiece, that goes without saying, but after the forlorn Coney Island monologue, the whole work turns into pure magic, beaming you up while gravity yanks you down in an agonizing, ecstatic tug-of-war. It’s like everything before that was a prologue, a warm-up. The guitars playing whack-a-mole with the trumpets, the cloudbursts of music followed by periods of calm, the glimmering guitars creating heat mirages on the horizon, the orchestral tempest, melancholy piano meeting megaphone ranting... and you realize in that moment just how right they are for each other. A palimpsest of messages ease you deeper (higher?) into the world of GY!BE's journey. Listen to the music of men who are themselves master listeners of the world around them. Let them sing you a lullaby as they put to sleep the past and all the things you cannot reclaim.

que dire que dire...

Silly me; I'd heard of this band a long while back but had always assumed, based on the name, that they were a metal band and avoided. To my surprise, they are not! Well worth a listen, this is really good.

The best album by the post-rock masters. A great "get in a groove" offering that works well while reading or working. 3.5/5

A week after getting F Sharp A Sharp Infinity, I get this album, Lift Yr. Skinny Fists Like Antennas to Heaven, and the difference couldn't be more stark,to a point where their debut feels like a demo for their more interesting work. F Sharp used more sound collages and droning soundscapes, and it still exists here, but the ambient rock music is front and centre, it even starts with a very triumphant and rocky sound!

Lift Yr. Skinny Fists is quite long, it comes in at roughly an hour and a half, but it doesn't feel quite that long, the post rock soundscapes of the first three songs do a good job of setting the scene and sucking you in and it doesn't really let go of that. There's a guy talking about Coney Island on the beginning of the track "Sleep" which is jarring at first, but it does set the stage for the best track on the album so I'll give it a pass.

Should it be in the main list: Yes 100%. This is one of the most egregious exclusions.

Top 3 songs: Storm, Static, Sleep

Godspeed are in my eyes the greatest post-rock band ever with zero debate. This album is absolutely massive and emotional and beautiful.

After giving a 5 to another Godspeed You! Black Emperor on the user list, here I go again!

Yes, arguably the greatest post rock album of all time I prefer this to their debut. I think this is a great add to the list, but I would as Mogwai Young team was my choice, so this is right up my street.

June 25, 2025

HL: "Storm", "Sleep"

Not first listen. :0
This is actually the only GYBE I have heard so far (maybe besides their music in 28 Days Later), and I've been meaning to dive deeper into their work, so this'll be a healthy refresher.

Why have I previously complained about other dark, noisy, disjointed, overlong projects but love this one?
'You got me. By all accounts, it doesn't make sense.'
I think the finer points of GYBE's political messaging is lost on me here, but I am still moved by the four movements all the same. "Storm" is perhaps the most aptly-titled song, since it gives me about the same feeling as watching a thunderstorm pass by.

Hair-raising, heavy, but ultimately a great musical odyssey.

Maybe the reason why Godspeed doesn't feature in the original 2005 list, even though it has *some* post-rock such as Sigur Ros and Tortoise, is that it grew in stature over time.
Or it's their contempt for any Canadian artist not named Young, Cohen or Mitchell >:0
#iloveallofthembuttheydidnotneed20albumsbetweenthethreeofthem

((Prog + prog) x prog) ^ prog = GY!BE
No 'proper' lyrics, meaning the words that are there (as samples) take on a deeper meaning. Manages to convey a tonne of emotion through music, and sounds like the soundtrack to a really weird movie.
Four tracks, almost 90 minutes, but never feels like it is dragging - a nice trick to pull off if you can manage it! Well worth a place in the book - we will definitely have to get it expanded.

Fun for most of the duration, but does start to lose me during the final piece. 4.5 rounding up, though