'Allelujah! Don't Bend! Ascend!

'Allelujah! Don't Bend! Ascend! (sometimes stylized in all caps) is the fourth studio album by Canadian post-rock band Godspeed You! Black Emperor, released by Constellation Records. It was their first album since 2002's Yanqui U.X.O.. After reforming in 2010, the group went on tour and silently released the album at a concert in Boston^[5] on October 1, 2012, with official release dates on October 15 in Europe and the following day in other countries.^[1] The album received positive reviews and has been heralded as a comeback for the collective, winning the 2013 Polaris Music Prize.^[6]

'Allelujah! Don't Bend! Ascend!
Studio album by Godspeed You! Black Emperor
Released	October 1, 2012 (2012-10-01)[1]
Recorded	2011[2]
Studio	Hotel2Tango, Montreal
Genre	Post-rock[3] experimental[3]
Length	53:09[4]
Label	Constellation
Producer	Thierry Amar David Bryant Howard Bilerman Efrim Menuck Mike Moya
Godspeed You! Black Emperor chronology
Yanqui U.X.O. (2002) 'Allelujah! Don't Bend! Ascend! (2012) Asunder, Sweet and Other Distress (2015)

The album marked the beginning of a major stylistic change for Godspeed You! Black Emperor, being less technically complex and focusing more on drones while abandoning the concept of movements altogether – a compositional format they would continue to employ until 2021's G_d's Pee at State's End!.

Reception

Professional ratings

Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
AnyDecentMusic?	8.0/10[7]
Metacritic	81/100[8]
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[3]
The A.V. Club	B+[9]
The Guardian	[10]
The Independent	[11]
Mojo	[12]
The Observer	[13]
Pitchfork	9.3/10[14]
Q	[15]
Rolling Stone	[16]
Spin	9/10[17]

'Allelujah! Don't Bend! Ascend! received positive reviews from critics. Eli Kleman of Sputnikmusic stated that the album has "immeasurable breadth and depth" and is a "truly unforgettable experience".^[18] Drowned in Sound's Andrzej Lukowski said that the release is "a modestly magnificent record that entirely validates" the band reforming.^[19] Mark Richardson of Pitchfork also draws a connection between the group's entire output, finishing his review by calling this "an album of music that is both new and old from a band that we thought we might never hear from again, one we should appreciate while we can".^[14] Tyler Kane of Paste gave the album an 8.9 out of 10, writing that, "the time-tested tracks not only showcase the band doing what they do best in notoriously long, dramatic, panic-inducing instrumentals but are also startling reminders on why the band was so vital and lead such a movement to begin with".^[20] The Guardian's Dom Lawson gave the album 5 out of 5 stars, because "the Godspeed ethos of wordlessly eliciting universal truths remains as devastatingly effective as ever".^[10]

The album was listed 13th on Stereogum's list of top 50 albums of 2012.^[21]

The album won the 2013 Polaris Music Prize on September 23, 2013.^[22]

Track listing

LP release^[a]

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Mladic[b]"	19:54
2.	"We Drift Like Worried Fire[b]"	19:58
3.	"Their Helicopters' Sing"	6:30
4.	"Strung Like Lights At Thee Printemps Erable"	6:31
Total length:		52:53

CD release^[c]

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Mladic"	19:59
2.	"Their Helicopters' Sing"	6:30
3.	"We Drift Like Worried Fire"	20:07
4.	"Strung Like Lights At Thee Printemps Erable"	6:31
Total length:		53:07

Personnel

Godspeed You! Black Emperor^[23]

• Thierry Amar – bass guitar, double bass, cello, recording and mixing on "Their Helicopters Sing" and "Strung Like Lights at Thee Printemps Erable"
• David Bryant – electric guitar, hammered dulcimer, Portasound, kemençe, recording and mixing on "Their Helicopters Sing" and "Strung Like Lights at Thee Printemps Erable", photography
• Bruce Cawdron – drums, vibraphone, marimba, glockenspiel
• Aidan Girt – drums
• Karl Lemieux – 16 mm frames artwork, photography
• Efrim Menuck – electric guitar, hurdy-gurdy, recording and mixing on "Their Helicopters Sing" and "Strung Like Lights at Thee Printemps Erable", photography
• Mike Moya – electric guitar, recording and mixing on "Their Helicopters Sing" and "Strung Like Lights at Thee Printemps Erable"
• Mauro Pezzente – bass guitar
• Sophie Trudeau – violin, Casio SK-5

Technical personnel^[23]

• Howard Bilerman – recording on "Mladic" and "We Drift Like Worried Fire"
• Charles-André Coderre – cover photo
• Yannick Grandmont – photography
• Timothy Herzog – "Atonal Canada" photo
• Harris Newman at Greymarket – mastering

Charts

Chart performance for 'Allelujah! Don't Bend! Ascend!

Chart (2012)	Peak position
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[24]	49
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[25]	118
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[26]	95
Finnish Albums (Suomen virallinen lista)[27]	47
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[28]	94
UK Albums (OCC)[29]	41
US Billboard 200[30]	45
US Independent Albums (Billboard)[31]	9
US Top Alternative Albums (Billboard)[32]	13
US Top Rock Albums (Billboard)[33]	18

Notes

1. tracks 1 and 2 come on a 12" record, while tracks 3 and 4 come on a singular 7" record.
2. "Mladic" and "We Drift Like Worried Fire" are re-workings of previously unreleased live tracks formerly known as "Albanian" and "Gamelan", which have been performed live as far back as 2003.^[4]
3. the CD edition of the album compiles all four tracks on a single disc.^[4]