Asunder, Sweet and Other Distress

Asunder, Sweet and Other Distress is the fifth studio album by Canadian post-rock band Godspeed You! Black Emperor, released on 31 March 2015 by Constellation Records. The album was recorded with Electrical Audio engineer Greg Norman in North Carolina and Montreal,[1][12] and was the first to feature completely new material since the band's reformation in 2010.[13] It is also, with the exception of the vinyl version of F♯ A♯ ∞, the group's shortest album to date, timing in at just forty minutes.

'Asunder, Sweet and Other Distress'
Studio album by
Godspeed You! Black Emperor
Released31 March 2015 (2015-03-31)
Recorded2013–14
Studio
Genre
Length40:23[1]
LabelConstellation
Godspeed You! Black Emperor chronology
'Allelujah! Don't Bend! Ascend!
(2012)		 'Asunder, Sweet and Other Distress'
(2015)		 Luciferian Towers
(2017)
Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic84/100[2]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[3]
The A.V. ClubA-[4]
Drowned in Sound[5]
Exclaim!8/10[6]
The Guardian[7]
Paste9.3/10[8]
Pitchfork7.6/10[9]
Spin[10]
Sputnikmusic[11]

The album was announced on 24 February 2015; the group also shared an excerpt of "Peasantry or 'Light! Inside of Light!'" on SoundCloud.[14] On 24 March 2015, Constellation streamed the album on their SoundCloud.

Critical reception

At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from music critics, the album has received an average score of 84, indicating "universal acclaim".[2]

Pitchfork rated the album 7.6 out of a possible 10 and Mark Richardson described the album as a "different kind of transaction" and that while listening to the album "You have to let your guard down" as that Godspeed "transforms feelings into compelling records. They're still on track.".[15] Writing for Exclaim!, Nilan Perera called the record "a beautiful, concise blast that conveys this band's musical essence."[6]

Track listing

The album's four tracks are based on "Behemoth", played live numerous times since 2012 and previously recorded onstage for the concert series We Have The Signal.[16]

No.TitleLength
1."Peasantry or 'Light! Inside of Light!'"10:28
2."Lambs' Breath"9:52
3."Asunder, Sweet"6:13
4."Piss Crowns Are Trebled"13:50

Personnel
Godspeed You! Black Emperor
Technical personnel
  • Greg Norman – recording, mixing
  • Harris Newman at Greymarket – mastering

Charts
Chart (2015) Peak
position
UK Albums (OCC)[17] 37
US Billboard 200[18] 129
gollark: Instead of "hiring" people and "paying" them, we basically do nondestructive neural scans.
gollark: We don't mostly, I'm sure this was explained.
gollark: Also direct matter synthesis, but the energy costs are sometimes a bit prohibitive.
gollark: GTech™ mostly uses in-house production via nano- and smaller assemblers, yes.
gollark: It sounds like your R&D department has a very poor grasp of nonlinear apioelectromagnetic/photonic field effects.

References
  1. "GY!BE - 'Asunder, Sweet And Other Distress' - Constellation Records". Retrieved 24 February 2015.
  2. "Metacritic Review". Metacritic.com. Retrieved 29 March 2015.
  3. "Asunder, Sweet and Other Distress". AllMusic. 30 March 2015. Retrieved 31 March 2015.
  4. "Godspeed You! Black Emperor punctuates chaos with hope". The A.V. Club. Retrieved 2 April 2015.
  5. "Album Review: Godspeed You! Black Emperor - Asunder, Sweet And Other Distress". Drowned in Sound. Retrieved 2 April 2015.
  6. Perera, Nilan (31 March 2015). "Godspeed You! Black Emperor - Asunder, Sweet and Other Distress". Exclaim!. Retrieved 9 April 2015.
  7. Costa, Maddy (26 March 2015). "Godspeed You! Black Emperor: Asunder, Sweet and Other Distress review – a resolute, defiant return". The Guardian. Retrieved 2 April 2015.
  8. "Godspeed You! Black Emperor: Asunder, Sweet and Other Distress Review". Paste Magazine. 31 March 2015. Retrieved 2 April 2015.
  9. "Pitchfork Review". Pitchfork. 1 April 2015. Retrieved 1 April 2015.
  10. "Review: Godspeed You! Black Emperor Renew Their Orchestral Bombast on 'Asunder, Sweet and Other Distress'". Spin. 30 March 2015. Retrieved 2 April 2015.
  11. "Sputnikmusic Review". Sputnikmusic. 26 March 2015. Retrieved 29 March 2015.
  12. "Godspeed You! Black Emperor – "Pleasantry Or 'Light! Inside of Light'" (Excerpt) & 'Asunder, Sweet and Other Distress' Details". 24 February 2015. Retrieved 24 February 2015.
  13. Music, Guardian (25 February 2015). "Godspeed You! Black Emperor announce new album". The Guardian. Retrieved 2 April 2015.
  14. "Godspeed You! Black Emperor Announce New Album Asunder, Sweet and Other Distress". Retrieved 24 February 2015.
  15. "Godspeed You! Black Emperor Asunder, Sweet and Other Distress Review". Pitchfork Media. Retrieved 5 April 2015.
  16. Empire, Kitty (29 March 2015). "Godspeed You! Black Emperor: Asunder, Sweet and Other Distress review – threat and grandeur". The Guardian. Retrieved 2 April 2015.
  17. "Godspeed You Black Emperor | Artist | Official Charts". UK Albums Chart. Retrieved 9 April 2015.
  18. "Godspeed You Black Emperor Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved 4 November 2015.
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