Yanqui U.X.O.
by Godspeed You! Black Emperor
Metascore
80

Generally favorable reviews - based on 16 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 13 out of 16
  2. Mixed: 3 out of 16
  3. Negative: 0 out of 16
  1. Delusions of Adequacy
    90
    Lift Your Skinny Fists… told a story, included more extremes in volume and emotion, and added vocal samples. Yanqui, thus, is more subtle, more restrained. Yet it's also more moody, more cerebral, more intense.
  2. AllMusic
    90
    The band is making the finest music in the history of its collective.
  3. Dusted Magazine
    90
    While most of Slow Riot and at least parts of Skinny Fists shine through from a distance, much of what makes this album great is its painstaking detail.
  5. Mojo
    90
    Sits to the right of the likes of Philip Glass and Glenn Branca while outdoing the experimentalism of either Radiohead or Sigur Ros. [Jan 2003, p.98]
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  6. Salon
    80
    A difficult and rewarding thrill.
  7. Stylus Magazine
    80
    What remains is a sometimes cold, sometimes confusing collection of epics that are more intricate than anything GYBE have ever created.
  8. Playlouder
    80
    Yes, of course it's a touch on the pretentious-sounding side, and it's also one of the most remorselessly miserable records of the decade so far, but none of this should discourage you from embracing it wholly.
  9. Blender
    80
    Yanqui U.X.O.'s five long tracks unfold in distinct movements, like symphonic '70s prog, but with rawer, emotional atmospherics. [#13, p.93]
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  10. Uncut
    80
    Innovations are few.... Still, when these nocturnes, crescendos and intimations of apocalypse remain so musically rich and emotionally powerful, it seems churlish to demand more. [Dec 2002, p.130]
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  11. The Wire
    80
    More substantial, positive and dynamic. [#225, p.58]
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  12. Splendid
    80
    The band should be proud of Yanqui U.X.O. -- it proves that they're not hopelessly married to the fine-print details of their formula, and that they can still wring fresh ideas from familiar territory.
  13. The A.V. Club
    70
    Stripped of some of Godspeed's hallmarks, including its creepy spoken-word samples and propensity for building to an overbearingly climactic full-on pummel, the disc's power lies more in its subdued shading and slow, methodical builds.
  14. Spin
    70
    Verbal sound bites once provided subtext for Godspeed's cinematic symphonies. But on Yanqui, those voices have fallen silent, and there's too much barren drift. [March 2003, p.120]
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  15. Q Magazine
    60
    The usual barrage of angry cello instrumentals. [Dec 2002, p.103]
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  16. Neumu.net
    60
    Yanqui U.X.O. is the work of a band that has finally become confident in its popularity and influence.
  17. Pitchfork
    56
    The tracks on Yanqui are content to continue building to bored, satiated endings we can see coming 20 minutes in advance.

Awards & Rankings

49
#49 Best Album of 2002
89
#89 Most Discussed Album of 2002
36
#36 Most Shared Album of 2002

User Reviews

All reviews »
User Score
8.6

Universal acclaim- based on 54 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 51 out of 54
  2. Mixed: 1 out of 54
  3. Negative: 2 out of 54
  1. JonL
    Nov 15, 2006
    10
    It doesn't show the balls-out part of Godspeed, like their first two albums, but it shows them in the mode of craftsmen. This It doesn't show the balls-out part of Godspeed, like their first two albums, but it shows them in the mode of craftsmen. This doesn't mean the album sounds safe and comfortable, though, far from it. If anything, it feels kind of like a continuation of the last passages of "Antennas To Heaven" in a more rock form, but with the unsettling feelings of old gloom long since forgotten with a hint of wistful twilight in some sections nonetheless. The group is as martial and rousing as ever, and the album is nearly as haunting as the most autumnal moments of "Lift Your Skinny Fists...", but perhaps this will fit as the final statement from the band, as I truly can't see where they can grow from here. They have certainly left three essential albums full of uncanny passion and dread like no band before or since them has replicated, and that is more of an achievement than prolific composing.… Full Review »
  2. MitchM
    Oct 2, 2006
    10
    Great album. Their best hands down.
  3. HTam
    Sep 14, 2006
    10
    Among the greatest music ever recorded. Those into common music won't get it, but it's a post-rock masterpiece. Also it's all Among the greatest music ever recorded. Those into common music won't get it, but it's a post-rock masterpiece. Also it's all instrumental, which already filters out the mainstream listeners.… Full Review »
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