From the polar reaches of Canada, Efrim Manuel Menuck, co-founder of seminal post-rock band Godspeed You! Black Emperor and one of the chamber-punks Thee Silver Mt. Zion, is stepping out of these groups’ digs and going at it alone. Menuck, ever the advocate for analog processing and avant guitar work, is taking his 13-album career and putting it into his first solo LP, Plays “High Gospel” (via Exclaim).
As heard in the opening track,”our lady of parc extension and her munificent sorrows” below, swells, noise, and layered vocals create a flowing atmosphere of organic sounds, taking Menuck’s roots and naturally letting them grow. Elsewhere, the album’s lyrics serve as “an ode to his adopted Montreal hometown, the passing of great friends (Vic Chesnutt, Emma) and new fatherhood.” Also, check out the composition on “chickadees’ roar pt. 2″ for a treble-drone beauty.
Plays “High Gospel” Tracklist:
01. our lady of parc extension and her munificent sorrows
02. a 12-pt. program for keep on keepin’ on
03. august four, year-of-our-lord blues
04. heavy calls & hospital blues
05. heaven’s engine is a dusty ol’ bellows
06. kaddish for chesnutt
07. chickadees’ roar pt. 2
08. i am no longer a motherless child
