Godspeed You! Black Emperor released a string of albums from 1997-2002 widely recognized as redefining what protest music can be, where longform instrumental chamber rock compositions of immense feeling and power serve as soundtracks to late capitalist alienation and resistance. The band’s first four releases—especially F#A#∞ (1997) and Lift Your Skinny Fists Like Antennas To Heaven (2000)—are variously regarded as classics of the era and genre. Godspeed's legendary live performances, featuring multiple 16mm projectors beaming a collage of overlapping analog film loops and reels—along with the distinctive iconography, imagery and tactility of the band's album artwork and physical LP packages— further defines the sui generis aesthetic substance, ethos and mythos of this group. GY!BE has issued two official band photos in its 25-year existence (the second, below, a 2010 recreation of the first from 1997) and has done a half-dozen collectively-answered written interviews over that same span. The band has never had a website or social media accounts. It has never made a video. Few rock bands in our 21st century have been as steadfast in trying to let the work speak for itself and maintaining simple rules about minimising participation in cultures of personality, exposure, access, commodification or co-optation. Following a seven-year hiatus that began in 2003, Godspeed returned to the stage in December 2010 (curating the UK festival All Tomorrow’s Parties) and the band’s post-reunion period has now lasted over a decade, marked by hundreds of sold-out live shows and three additional albums, all of which have been met with high acclaim.

Thirty years into a career of music making, 2024 finds Alan Sparhawk entering uncharted territory. Sparhawk co-founded the band Low alongside vocalist and drummer Mimi Parker. Low’s music fearlessly explored the elementals and their thirteen albums inspired a still-evolving movement of artists mining the spacious, the graceful, and the intimate. Over time, Low’s anthemic songs heightened in urgency and tone, as well as intensified lyrical questioning. Their final album, Grammy nominated Hey What was released in 2021 to universal acclaim. Parker passed away in late 2022. There is no question that Sparhawk’s first solo album—White Roses, My God—is a record borne of grief. However, it would be reductive, even foolish, to see grief as its sole source or organizing principle. Its taut, provocative experimentation is powered by profound lyrics and propulsive beats. White Roses, My God is an exorcism whose purpose is not to banish the spirit but to set it free. Having recently put in guest appearances with Matchess, Yo La Tengo, Trampled by Turtles, Peder Mannerfelt, Charlie Parr, and funk band Derecho Rhythm Section, Sparhawk’s tour schedule in support of White Roses, My God begins in November and extends through next spring, including an appearance at Pitchfork Music Festival London and support dates with Godspeed You! Black Emperor