Yearning

Yearning are a four-piece screamo/emoviolence band from Montreal, Quebec that began in 2021. They put out their debut album earlier this year on No Funeral Records. MMXXII  (Roman numerals for 2022) consists of 7 tracks in 9 minutes, which is all the time this band needs to get you hooked. Without a doubt, this is one of the most impactful and earnest takes on the sound pioneered by bands such as Orchid or Louise Cyphre that I've heard in a while. It's harsh, chaotic, and completely despondent, with some scorching vocals and and ritualistic guitars that recall the greatest moments of their aforementioned precursors. This is a release that will stay on repeat for a long time, and I cannot wait to see what this band has coming in the future., Also, just FYI, there is a Finnish doom metal band with the same name, in case there's some confusion when looking them up. Enjoy.

MMXXII (2022)

1. I

2. II

3. III

4. IV

5. V

6. VI

7. VII

Bandcamp

Spotify

Apple Music

Facebook

No Funeral

Godspeed You! Black Emperor

Alright, so this wraps up another year. Not only that, but this is the blog's 800th post, and as you might know, I like to feature a major, noteworthy band for every 100 posts. This long-awaited, highly requested, and absolutely essential band seemed like the perfect choice for this for this milestone and year end. As always, thank you guys so much for your continued support, I'm happy to keep this thing going well past the expiry date of the mp3 blog. I'll see ya in the New Year (though I won't feel any different).

It's difficult to even know where to begin with a band this gargantuan. They're momentous in their respective genre, and very well known and loved across the musical spectrum for their orchestrated apocalypse, reaching new heights in post-rock and drone music. Of course we're talking about Godspeed You! Black Emperor, one of the most essential and breath-taking bands ever to exist. I'm not going to go into much detail about their history (since it's fairly well-known and documented), but they're (currently) a 10-piece post-rock band that originated in Montreal, Quebec (Canada) in 1994. They began as a small outfit (3 musicians and 1 film projectionist, the visual component has always been massively important to them). They released the limited hallowed cassette All Lights Fucked On The Hairy Amp Drooling, which was limited to 33 copies and has never been unearthed since its release. To this day, there are no copies online. Allegedly it sounds very different from the band we know today (they utilized vocals), and as their line-up expanded, so did their sound.

By 1997, they had rounded out a large line-up of musicians and instrumental variety, as they crafted these massive pieces marked by movements, crescendos and desolate atmosphere. This resulted in F# A# ∞, the band's debut record. Initially released on vinyl, it was re-recorded and re-arranged for a CD release the following year. Their next major output was a two-track EP, which is just as essential as any of their full-lengths. "Moya" in particular is an incredible piece on that EP. Y2K rolls around, and the world implodes at the release of their magnum opus, Lift Your Skinny Fists Like Antennas To Heaven. This is one of my favourite albums ever, one of the best and most highly regarded post-rock albums ever released, and all in all an incredible listening experience. It ranges from drone passages to gorgeous heaven-reaching crescendos, with incredibly layered instrumentation and seamless movements. It's been discussed to death, just listen to this masterpiece if you have not already. Following Lift Your Skinny Fists... they released Yanqui U.X.O., which was a much more raucous affair than its predecessor. It unfortunately didn't live up to the group's first few standout projects, but it's still a very solid album and well worth the listen. In 2003 they disbanded, though many of its members were active in other projects such as Thee Silver Mt. Zion Memorial Orchestra and Fly Pan Am.

The GY!BE spark was reignited in 2010, as they started to play shows again. In 2012 they came out with a new record, which consisted of material recorded both before they broke up and after they reunited. Their sound alternates between the massive ebb-and-flow movements of their early records and these new, droning interludes, providing something familiar and something new. It's a phenomenal record, and an absolute staple in their catalogue. They've since released two new albums in this decade, both of which are very solid outings, but again don't quite hit the same highs as their best albums. Having said that, even relatively "decent" GY!BE is still absolutely outstanding in the canon of post-rock. There's really not much more that needs to be said, this band and their music are super well-known and often discussed. The only thing I would like to add is if you get a chance, pick up physical copies of their material. The visual components of each album are integral to the full vision of these projects, and the artwork is always amazing. Thanks for another good year, and enjoy.

F# A# ∞ (Vinyl) (1997)

1. Nervous, Sad, Poor...

2. Bleak, Uncertain, Beautiful...

F# A# ∞ (CD) (1998)

1. The Dead Flag Blues

2. East Hastings

3. Providence

aMAZEzine 7" (1998)

1. Godspeed You! Black Emperor - Sunshine + Gasoline

2. Fly Pan Am - L'espace Au Sol Est Redessiné Par D'immenses Panneaux Bleus

John Peel Session (1998)

1. Hung Over As The Queen In Maida Vale

Slow Riot For New Zero Kanada (1999)

1. Moya

2. BBF3

Lift Your Skinny Fists Like Antennas To Heaven (2000)

1. Storm

2. Static

3. Sleep

4. Like Antennas To Heaven...

Yanqui U.X.O. (2002)

1. 09-15-00

2. 09-15-00 (cont.)

3. rockets falls on Rocket Falls

4. motherfucker=redeemer

5. motherfucker=redeemer (cont.)

'Allelujah! Don't Bend! Ascend! (2012)

1. Mladic

2. Their Helicopters' Sing

3. We Drift Like Worried Fire

4. Strung Like Lights At Thee Printemps Erable

'Asunder, Sweet And Other Distress' (2015)

1. Peasantry or 'Light! Inside Of Light!'

2. Lambs' Breath

3. Asunder, Sweet

4. Piss Crowns Are Trebled

Luciferian Towers (2017)

1. Undoing A Luciferian Towers

2. Bosses Hang

3. Fam / Famine

4. Anthem For No State

G_d's Pee AT STATE'S END! (2021)

1. A Military Alphabet (five eyes all blind) / Job's Lament / First of the Last Glaciers / where we break how we shine (ROCKETS FOR MARY)

2. Fire at Static Valley

3. "GOVERNMENT CAME" / Cliffs Gaze / cliffs' gaze at empty waters' rise / ASHES TO SEA or NEARER TO THEE

4. OUR SIDE HAS TO WIN (for D.H.)

“NO TITLE AS OF 13 FEBRUARY 2024 28,340 DEAD” (2024)

1. SUN IS A HOLE SUN IS VAPORS

2. BABYS IN A THUNDERCLOUD

3. RAINDROPS CAST IN LEAD

4. BROKEN SPIRES AT DEAD KAPITAL

5. PALE SPECTATOR TAKES PHOTOGRAPHS

6. GREY RUBBLE – GREEN SHOOTS

Bandcamp

Constellation Records

Gulfer

Gulfer are a four-piece emo/math rock band from Montreal, Quebec that formed in 2011. In keeping with the recent trend of sharing fantastic new emo records on here, Dog Bless could not go unmentioned. This is their sophomore album, and was released by Topshelf, Big Scary Monsters, and Friend Of Mine. It's a half-hour of guttural vocals, technical guitar work, and a raw punk energy. This will undoubtedly be a breath of fresh air for fans of bands like You Blew It!, Prawn, and I Kill Giants, or any classic revival band really. Definitely recommended. Enjoy.

Gulfer/Fago.Sepia (2012)

1. Pink Kong

2. Hulk Logan

3. Willow Fight

Note: Gulfer tracks only

Transcendals (2013)

1. Ten Souls

2. Tiki Marathon

3. Bauer Ranger

4. Jurassic Spark

5. Shoreline

Splits (2013)

1. M.C. Groggy

2. Shrimp Charade

Del Paxton/Gulfer (2015)

1. Del Paxton - Paline

2. Del Paxton - Bad Batch

3. Gulfer - F'real For Real

4. Gulfer - Bob Abate

What Gives (2015)

1. Bloody Lookin'

2. Getting Hit By Parked Cars

3. Most Of My Time

4. Post-Molly

5. Trim It Short

6. Altalalaval

7. Almost Sterling

Dog Bless (2018)

1. Secret Stuff

2. Doglife

3. Fading

4. Blessed, pt. 1

5. Baseball

6. Be Father

7. Babyshoe

8. Blessed, pt. 2

9. Judy Froster

10. Florida

11. We've All Done Wrong

12. Blessed, pt. 3

Gulfer (2020)

1. Intro

2. Blurry

3. Nature Kids

4. Forget (Friendly)

5. Interlude

6. Heat Wave

7. Mall Song

8. Letters

9. Carefully

10. Flashing

11. Symmetry

12. Trips And Falls

13. Outro

Bandcamp

Facebook

Topshelf

One Eyed God Prophecy

One Eyed God Prophecy were a hardcore band from Sherbrooke, Quebec (Canada) that were around from 1995-1997. Though their existence was brief, their influence is monumental. Along with fellow Canadian band Union of Uranus (who OEGP claimed to share members with to attract people to their shows on tour), they formed the framework for screamo that bands like Orchid would later take and run with. This combination of hardcore, crust punk, and grindcore results in an incredibly intense, dark, and dissonant sound that's unmistakable for fans of the screamo genre. It's origins are highly disputed of course, and though it was a sound that had been developing for years, the input of One Eyed God Prophecy is undeniably important in the genre's formation. They only ever recorded one album, a seven-track self-titled release that came out in 1996. This thing is fantastic from start to finish, with the lengthy tracks fully exploring the band's complex sound, which is nothing short of groundbreaking. A discography CD was released in 2001 that contained both their sole LP and a few live songs. Both are included below, so enjoy.

One Eyed God Prophecy (1996)

1. Toddler

2. (Interlude)

3. Wilf

4. Karysun

5. End Of The Story

6. Fields Of Separate Realities

7. Individual Gallery

Discography (2001)

1. Toddler

2. (Interlude)

3. Wilf

4. Karysun

5. End Of The Story

6. Fields Of Separate Realities

7. Individual Gallery

8. Wilf (Live at CFLX)

9. End of a Story (Live at CFLX)

10. Toddler (Live at CFLX)

11. Fields of Separate Realities (Live at CFLX)

12. End of the Story (Live at Birdhouse)

13. Toddler (Live at Birdhouse)

14. Karysun (Live at Birdhouse) 

Solids

Solids are a three-piece (formerly two-piece) alternative rock band from Montreal, Quebec that formed in 2009. They've picked up quite a bit of attention with their debut LP, Blame Confusion a few years back. This year they put out a new EP, Else, through Topshelf Records, and have continued their reign of fuzzed-out terror. Solids approach to music takes clear influence from the best of 90's alt. rock, such as Dinosaur Jr. They craft phenomenal pop songs that are stacked with layers of loud, distorted guitar. They often draw comparisons to other modern bands such as No Age, which is definitely a worthy comparison. Enjoy.

Generic Dogs (2010)

1. Erratic Dogs

2. Whatevers And Neverminds

3. Fire Works ( Just fine )

4. Generic Town

5. Distant Faces

Fog Friends b/w Blown Out (2011)

1. Fog Friends

2. Blown Out

Solids/Animal Faces (2013)

1. Solids - Cold Hands

2. Animal Faces - Give In

3. Animal Faces - Hold On

Blame Confusion (2013)

1. Over The Sirens

2. Off White

3. Traces

4. Haze Away

5. Blame Confusion

6. Laisser Faire

7. Cold Hands

8. Through The Walls

9. Not Complaining

10. Terminal

Else (2016)

1. Blank Stare

2. Wait It Out

3. Blurs

4. Shine

Bandcamp

Facebook

Sea Oleena

Sea Oleena is a lo-fi indie/dream pop project created by Charlotte Loseth, who is based out of Montreal, Quebec. Between two mini-albums and one full-length, Charlotte's established an ethereal atmosphere, full of gentle vocals and layered instrumentation that's so textured and reverberated that it often draws comparisons to shoegaze. Sonically, Sea Oleena crafts the type of music that evokes a sense of floating in a half-asleep haze, with clouds as cushions and a euphoric aimless drift. Or something like that. Basically, Charlotte is an incredible musician who utilizes subtle details to create massive landscapes of sound, which are still quiet and soothing. As far as comparisons go, Grouper shares a similar atmosphere, though Sea Oleena's songwriting is a bit more structured and instrumentally defined. If you're looking for some very relaxing, euphoric, atmospheric music, I cannot recommend Sea Oleena enough. Enjoy.

Sea Oleena (2010)

1. Swimming Story

2. Asleep At The Wheel

3. Island Cottage

4. Cold White Sheets/Empty Bed

5. And

6. Little Army

7. Lull

Sleeplessness (2011)

1. Southbound

2. Sleepless Fever

3. Insomnia Plague

4. Untitled

5. Sister

6. Milk

7. Orion's Eyes

Shallow (2014)

1. If I'm

2. Shallow

3. To Hold

4. Shades Of Golden

5. Everyone With Eyes Closed

6. Vinton, LA

7. Paths

Bandcamp

Facebook

The Discord Of A Forgotten Sketch

The Discord Of A Forgotten Sketch (also written thediscordofaforgottensketch or TDOAFS) are a three-piece screamo/emo violence band from Montreal, Quebec, Canada that formed in 2001. Despite the fact that they've been around forever, their main activity has only been in the past few years, which is why they're often associated with bands such as Beau Navire. TDOAFS have got every aspect a great screamo needs absolutely nailed. They're dark, chaotic, but also painfully melodic, and have that slight hint of jazz influence nailed down. Throw in some elements of hardcore, and you've got a band that will remind you why you love screamo/skramz so damn much. Enjoy.

The Discord Of A Forgotten Sketch (2004)

1. You Should Put Your TV Behind You

2. Maltide's Dream

3. Agony 666

4. A Satirical One For Aristote

5. Objects Are Stupid You Are One

St (2006)

1. 1

2. 2

3. 3

4. 4

5. 5

6. 6

7. 7

8. 8

9. 9

10. 10

Improv Session (2008)

1. 01

2. 02

3. 03

4. 04

5. 05

6. 06

7. 07

8. 08

9. 09

10. 10

Te Lloraría Un Puto Río/Carrion Spring/The Discord Of A Forgotten Sketch/Beau Navire (2010)

1. Te Lloraría Un Puto Río - Canción De Amor Sin Título

2. Te Lloraría Un Puto Río - Perros Y Abejas

3. Carrion Spring - Red Beard Rides Again

4. The Discord Of A Forgotten Sketch - La Deux Part Un

5. The Discord Of A Forgotten Sketch - La Deux Part Deux

6. Beau Navire - These Waves

7. Beau Navire - Ship To Shore

8. Beau Navire - Instrumental

Don't Pay More Than 5$ (2011)

1. Pluto

2. Zombies, zombies

3. Ghost Town

4. I'm here

5. Hall of famers

6. A punk band

7. tdoafs

Sovereign Songs (2012)

14. $$$|music|cowboys

The Discord Of A Forgotten Sketch/Brain Fever (2012)

1. The Discord Of A Forgotten Sketch - Wow God!

2. The Discord Of A Forgotten Sketch - CH

3. The Discord Of A Forgotten Sketch - 401

4. Brain Fever - Black Weed

5. Brain Fever - Death Giver

6. Brain Fever - Falling Apartments

The Discord Of A Forgotten Sketch/Black Love (2013)

1. The Discord Of A Forgotten Sketch - Coyotes

2. The Discord Of A Forgotten Sketch - Music Cowboys

3. Black Love - The Appalachian

4. Black Love - Motorboats and Waterfalls

One Side 12" (2013)

1. hot empty box

2. jets

3. a quiet place

4. being monsters

5. the patient's drawing

We Did It (2014)

1. We Did It

The Discord Of A Forgotten Sketch (2015)

1. let the people speak

2. staring at the birds

3. we move forward

4. take your pills

Kafka./Junior Leagues/Virginia On Duty/The Discord Of A Forgotten Sketch (2020)

1. Kafka. - Les Pelerins

2. Kafka. - Chacun D'Entre Nous

3. Junior Leagues - Ночь

4. Junior Leagues - Нелюбовь

5. Virginia On Duty - Fragments

6. Virginia On Duty - Detainee

7. The Discord Of A Forgotten Sketch - Altered Forever

8. The Discord Of A Forgotten Sketch - Still A Punk Band

9. The Discord Of A Forgotten Sketch - Fine Is Awful

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