Canadian cult heroes Godspeed You! Black Emperor quietly added a new album pre-order to their Bandcamp page this evening, shortly after the artwork and tracklist had appeared on Apple Music and instantly noticed by fans.

So, it's official then: GY!BE's first album in 3 years goes by the name of "NO TITLE AS OF 13 FEBRUARY 2024 28,340 DEAD" and will arrive on 4 October via Constellation Records. Two things are immediately obvious about that title: first, that it's referencing the bone-chilling bombardment ravaging the Gaza Strip, and secondly, that the 'official' number of murdered Palestinians is now much closer to double that figure – and, unofficially, likely many multiples higher.

Of course, GY!BE have never been ones to hide their politics away. Their last two album announcements have each come with a list of progressive demands, and many of their songs use voice samples with political messages. It's not the first time they've directly referenced Palestine, either. The song "09-15-00" from their 2002 album Yanqui U.X.O. was inspired by the provocative events leading up to the Second Intifada in September 2000, which lasted five years and left an estimated 4,500 people dead.

Yesterday, an illustration appeared on the Constellation Records Instagram with the words "WAR IS COMING / DON'T GIVE UP / HANG ON / PICK A SIDE / LOVE" – a variation on a similar phrase used on their tour announcement, which instructed us to "TEAR IT DOWN" instead of "PICK A SIDE."

Today, the band shared this message:

THE PLAIN TRUTH==
we drifted through it, arguing.
every day a new war crime, every day a flower bloom.
we sat down together and wrote it in one room,
and then sat down in a different room, recording.
NO TITLE= what gestures make sense while tiny bodies fall? what context? what broken melody?
and then a tally and a date to mark a point on the line, the negative process, the growing pile.
the sun setting above beds of ash
while we sat together, arguing.
the old world order barely pretended to care.
this new century will be crueler still.
war is coming.
don’t give up.
pick a side.
hang on.
love.
GY!BE

According to information on Bandcamp, "NO TITLE..." was recorded at Thee Mighty Hotel2Tango studios in Montréal during "the winter of bombs," and was engineered and mixed by longtime collaborator Jace Lasek of The Besnard Lakes.

Listen to the first single "GREY RUBBLE – GREEN SHOOTS" below:

"NO TITLE AS OF 13 FEBRUARY 2024 28,340 DEAD" tracklist:

1. SUN IS A HOLE SUN IS VAPORS
2. HOLE SUN IS VAPORS BABYS IN A THUNDERCLOUD
3. RAINDROPS CAST IN LEAD
4. BROKEN SPIRES AT DEAD KARTAL
5. PALE SPECTATOR TAKES PHOTOGRAPHS
6. GREY RUBBLE – GREEN SHOOTS

Shortly before the album release, GY!BE will head out on their Liberation Autumn of '24 Tour of Europe, starting in Dublin.

09/27 Dublin, Ireland @ National Stadium
09/29 London, UK @ Troxy
09/30 Glasgow, UK @ Barrowland
10/01 Manchester, UK @ Albert Hall
10/02 Bristol, UK @ Marble Factory
10/03 Coventry, UK @ HMV Empire
10/04 Tourcoing, France @ Le Grand Mix
10/05 Esch Sur Alzette, Luxembourg @ KuFa
10/06 Paris, France @ Le Trianon
10/08 Nantes, France @ Stereolux
10/09 Nancy, France @ L'Aure Canal
10/10 Zürich, Switzerland @ Volkshaus
10/11 Lausanne, Switzerland @ Les Docks
10/12 Frankfurt, Germany @ Zoom
10/14 Berlin, Germany @ Huxley's Neue Welt
10/15 Amsterdam, The Netherlands @ Paradiso Grote Zaal
10/16 Brussels, Belgium @ Ancienne Belgique
10/18 Athens, Greece @ Floyd
11/04 Hamilton, ON @ Bridgeworks +
11/05 Toronto, ON @ History +
11/06 London, OH @ London Music Hall +
11/07 Grand Rapids, MI @ The Intersection–Elevation +
11/08 Chicago, IL @ The Salt Shed +
11/09 Minneapolis, MN @ Palace Theatre +
11/11 Lawrence, KS @ Liberty Hall +
11/12 Fayetteville, AR @ George's Majestic Lounge +
11/13 Nashville, TN @ The Basement East +
11/14 Knoxville, TN @ Bijou Theatre +
11/15 Atlanta, GA @ The Masquerade–Purgatory +
11/16 Charleston, SC @ The Music Farm +
11/17 Saxapahaw, NC @ Haw River Ballroom +
11/19 Washington, DC @ 9:30 Club +
11/21 Brooklyn, NY @ Pioneer Works +
11/22 Norwalk, CT @ District Music Hall +
11/23 Boston, MA @ Roadrunner +
11/24 Philadelphia, PA @ Union Transfer +
11/25 Montréal, QC @ MTELUS

+ with Alan Sparhawk

Additional dates for April and May 2025 have also been announced:

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