First, let me get a few things off my chest. I’ve been a huge Godspeed You! Black Emperor fan since the late 90s, and they’re probably my most played band ever. My first three children will almost certainly be named “F#”, “A#”, and “∞”, unless my wife has any say in the matter. I’ll always rue the handful of missed opportunities to see them live while at university, with my penchant for frittering away my student loan on such luxuries as rent, food, and textbooks, leaving me with no money to get to the gigs. However, having been on indefinite hiatus since 2003, the chances of them ever writing new music grows slimmer and slimmer; a recent interview apparently confirmed their demise, before some rapid back-tracking offered a faint glimmer of hope.

In the meantime, however, as I wait by my computer with bated breath for Constellation Records to announce that “Godspeed You! Black Emperor reform for a series of concerts in and around the Highlands of Scotland,” it’s safe to assume that the baton has been passed (at least temporarily) to Thee Silver Mt. Zion Memorial Orchestra & Tra-La-La Band, otherwise known as ASMZ. Originally conceived as a side project in which the seemingly reluctant GY!BE frontman Efrim Menuck could learn how to score music, there can surely be few bands as capable of polarising public opinions as ASMZ. The most obvious difference between the two bands is the presence of vocals - some think Menuck’s singing to be the hauntingly beautiful embodiment of human frailty; others find his caterwauling distinctly unpalatable. Unfortunately, I find myself largely entrenched the latter camp.

ASMZ has evolved considerably since the release of it’s debut album He Has Left Us Alone but Shafts of Light Sometimes Grace the Corner of Our Rooms….  in 2000. Modifications to the line-up and subsequent releases brought with them various permutations of the band name (at least five, by my reckoning), before ostensibly settling on Thee Silver Mt. Zion Memorial Orchestra & Tra-La-La Band. Progressive releases demonstrate an increasing tendency by the band to break away from its instrumental roots. Menuck’s faint vocals can be heard briefly in GY!BE’s “East Hastings”, and in earlier ASMZ works, Menuck had summoned sufficient courage to let his voice ring out for all to hear. In 13 Blues For Thirteen Moons, however, Menuck seems to be unabashedly comfortable with his singer persona, and instruments tend to play second fiddle to vocals. As a fan of ASMZ’s earlier works, I find this disappointing, although it’s clearly the direction the band wish to take. Perhaps Menuck feels more able to convey his strong political feelings through words than through music; I do sense that this isn’t the whole story, though. It’s almost as if ASMZ is trying to distance itself from the GY!BE spectre that has loomed large for the band’s entire existence. 13 Blues For Thirteen Moons seems to me to be the end product of a group which would rather be seen as a rock band than anything remotely “post-rock” related.

Still, it’s obvious that they’re a post-rock band at heart (no matter what they claim), purely going on the basis of the ever-so-pretentious twelve track instrumental introduction lasting all of seventy one seconds, meaning that 13 Blues For Thirteen Moons doesn’t really begin until track thirteen. The number thirteen, while unlucky for some, does seem to hold a certain significance for ASMZ (their first album, released on March 13th, 2000, also contained a song called “13 Angels Standing Guard 'Round The Side Of Your Bed”) – quite what this represents is a matter for speculation. There are thirteen moons in the lunar calendar. Thirteen is an important number in Judaism, of which Menuck is a follower. On the other hand, I could be reading far too much into the matter, and it might be that thirteen is really the number of beers needing to be consumed by Menuck before he dares sing in public.

The fact that the four proper tracks each last at least thirteen minutes (see? That number again!) also betrays the post-rock roots of ASMZ. Each song packs in some hugely aggressive guitar riffs, which are positively teeming with punk attitude (“‘cause punks got the loveliest dreams”). Menuck’s vocals (and, to a lesser extent, those of other members of the septet) are prevalent on each of these tracks; at times, they can be both affecting and effective. Take “Blindblindblind” – to me, the highlight of the album – as an example. Beginning with a simple yet haunting fuzzy guitar line, he starts singing in a gentle, raw voice about “promises that we’ll never quit” and of wanting “punks in the palace,” swathed by strings and tremoloing guitars. However, as the vocals rise to prominence, they really start to grate – I cannot help but wince when he tells of the gang being “liquored and love-LEEEEEE”. Pizzicato strings give rise to a fierce guitar and vocal-driven crescendo at around the eight-and-a-half minute mark, before fading out to a purely choral cadence (in which Menuck proves that he is quite possibly the most vocally-talented band member).

Each of the four tracks is not without its merits, though, be it a simple yet haunting strings arrangement or a fantastic guitar riff. I even found myself singing along to the catchy chorus to “Black Waters Blowed/Engine Broke Blues” after a while. However, at times, I just find Menuck’s vocals somewhat overbearing. I fully accept that the angst-ridden singing is what attracts many people to the band in the first place; for the most part, though, it just leaves me cold.

I usually start a review with a completely open mind, yet never before have I found myself so actively wanting – trying, even – to like an album. To an extent, I did find it growing on me, and I can still see myself listening to it this time next year. 13 Blues For Thirteen Moons is a decent, solidly-crafted album, but try as I might, I don’t think that I could ever see it as anything more. Perhaps I’ll be sufficiently swayed if I ever experience the apparent spectacle that is the AMSZ live show (many non-believers have been converted this way); I certainly hope I get the opportunity. I’ve witnessed the unbridled enthusiasm that this album has mustered in some quarters – I do wonder, though, just how many of these devotees would feel this way if exactly the same album had been released by a band which wasn’t ASMZ; which lacked the vast influence exerted by GY!BE on its fan base. At any rate, this album is surely an acquired taste – honestly, how many of you would have bought it on impulse if you’d heard it for the first time playing in the background in HMV, without prior knowledge of the band? However, if you find the vocals tolerable – or even likeable – then 13 Blues For Thirteen Moons might just be the perfect album for you. Seeing as though 1,000,000 died to make this sound, it would pretty rude not to at least give it a try, don’t you think?

-Richard White