Yanqui U.X.O. was the fourth Godspeed record I nbought. I'd had F# A# for a couple of years and 'Allehujah! since it came out. I very quickly became a fan of Godspeed but took a while to pick up all their older albums. I got Slow Riot for Zero Kanada and Yanqui U.X.O. within a month of each other. I was worried that I'd struggle to distinguish between the two without having a long time to get to know them individually, but Slow Riot very much has an EP-feel to it, which helps.
09-15-00 explodes into huge violins then falls away to a marching drum, but then spends a lot of time drifting (nicely) without going anywhere again - the hope is that it'll go mental again but it doesn't. Rockets Fall on Rocket Falls starts much spookier and keeps its calm for quite a while despite itself, and eventually explodes into something truly magnificent with layers upon layers of instruments and a swirling guitar/violin/something. Motherfucker=Redeemer straddles two sides of vinyl and spans about 35 minutes. It's instantly beautiful. The second half takes a while to get going again but it's hugely exciting when it does start building up and then reaches its peak. George Bush Cut Up While Talking feels a bit unnecessary but is easily skipped.
I hadn't planned to go record shopping on the day I bought this - I was visiting my wife's (although she was my girlfriend then) relatives in Cambridge and we were exploring the town centre. I stumbled across a record stall in the market and found a couple of albums I fancied there whilst everyone else was browsing other stalls. Later I popped into Fopp whilst Vicky and her aunt were in another shop and found this album and Mr Beast by Mogwai. Not only were they albums I hadn't seen in shops often, both were reasonably priced, so I picked them up too. I certainly hadn't left the house expecting to buy four LPs that day, but it was a nice way to return.
Format: Double 12", gatefold sleeve, insert
Tracks: 4
Cost: £16 new
Bought: Fopp Cambridge
When: 05/10/13
Colour: Black
Etching: none
mp3s: no
