Godspeed You! Black Emperor/Xylouris White

This avant-garde Montreal collective is known for dynamic live shows -- experiences that stretch the universes of sound found on their studio recordings. This year, the band released Asunder, Sweet and Other Distress, another four-song album that falls neatly into their canon. Like past records, this one swirls itself into classical movements, droning space chords, raucous percussion and much more. Opener “Peasantry or ‘Light! Inside of Light!’” is a multifaceted march through time, with each section growing bolder than the last. The two middle tracks are ambient trips through weird and disorienting sounds (much like the shorter tracks on the band’s previous albums), and closer “Piss Crowns are Trebled” revives the sweeping energy from the album’s first 10 minutes. Live and in-person, however the setlist shakes out, this should be a real doozy. (Sandy)