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Thee Silver Mt. Zion Memorial Orchestra & Tra-La-La Band performs "For Wanda"

A founding member of Godspeed You! Black Emperor, the nine-piece Montreal post-rock outfit that largely defined the genre’s pursuit of soaring, emotionally wrenched instrumentals, guitarist, pianist and songwriter Efrim felt the need to explore a more individualistic approach. Beginning in late 2000 and joining together with two other GYBE members—Thierry on contrebasse and Sophie on violin—he formed A Silver Mt. Zion, whose first performance featured instrumental tracks interwoven with field recordings. This music, released as He Has Left Us Alone, But Shafts of Light Sometimes Grace the Corner of Our Rooms, became the group’s debut release on the venerated Montreal avant-rock label Constellation Records. Soon after, Efrim added three more members, reconceiving the group as a string quartet plus two electric guitars (drums were later added in 2003). Reflecting this radical transformation, he renamed the group The Silver Mt. Zion Memorial Orchestra and Tra-La-La-La Band (Thee came even later), and released the seminal Born Into Trouble as the Sparks Fly Upward. While the first two albums were largely instrumental—thereby feeding the impression that the group was essentially a GYBE side project—SMZ’s most recent albums feature a lyric-based approach. This Is Our Punk-Rock, Thee Rusted Satellites Gather and Sing and Horses in the Sky all draw heavily on political motifs to create an invigorating form of modern protest music. SMZ’s current lineup features ties to major Montreal experimental rock bands, including Black Ox Orkestar, Frankie Sparo, Hangedup, Re:, Sofa and many others.

Tuesday, August 29, 9pm, Soundlab, $9 adv $12 door