Originally published on metropolis.co.jp on April 2013

Cult Canadian post-rockers Godspeed You! Black Emperor have a pair of feverishly awaited gigs in Ebisu next week. One of those groups whose reputation is cemented by extended absence, GY!BE returned after almost a decade with last fall’s Allelujah! Don’t Bend! Ascend! The critically acclaimed album and sets at All Tomorrow’s Parties see the collective reaching new heights, and fans of long, harrowing instrumental jams and obscure 16-mm films are unlikely to be dissuaded at Liquidroom. On a local footnote, the band takes its name from a 1976 documentary by Mitsuo Yanagimachi that follows Japanese biker gang the Black Emperors.

Liquid Room, Apr 9-10