Neurosis & Jarboe |
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For those not in the know, Neurosis are one of the greatest “heavy” bands on the planet. They are not especially famous despite many years of recording under their various pseudonyms, and they probably never will be. They don’t wear masks. They don’t make “chug-a-chug” riffing metal for the masses. They don’t even just play around with time signatures to please the technically minded. Instead they treat heavy metal as an art form, attempting to create albums which flow, even breathe, hoping to represent life itself. They stand like artists with a sledgehammer in one hand and a toothpick in the other, as they prepare to carve out their stories with sound waves. Now, 2003 has brought them together with Jarboe, the unique sounding vocalist from Swans. It’s something that should be a match made in hell, and it virtually is. Or at least that is the common ground where they meet to collaborate.
See, Neurosis & Jarboe is like a horror film that’s too real. Forget about the cheap tricks of Hollywood, because the music here demonstrates something way more sinister at heart. It’s designed to challenge and cause discomfort, and it really does. A collection of eight individual masterpieces, each song is very separate and unique from what came before and after it. At times, the music is so, so gentle and careful with its intent, but you can’t help feeling something dark is going to rise up and grab you. Only it never does…until you finally let your guard down and then it finally erupts. You start to feel like you’re monitoring earth tremors trying to predict the earthquake, then getting buried when the ground around you decides to engulf you.
Of the songs, ‘Seizure’ and ‘Erase’ both tread on territory reminiscent of a more youthful and hostile PJ Harvey, although, with ‘Erase’ the scary dial is turned up a couple of notches as Jarboe carries out a brutal aural assault. ‘Within’ is simply stunning. It’s eternally dark, with tribal drums, electronic hums, eerie sine waves, and terrifying vocals. It doesn’t even require heavy guitars to be so effective, and it can capture your attention so fully that at times you even hold your breath while you wait to hear what will happen next. Throughout, the tracks are frequently long, but they have to be as the stories they tell us are so vivid and complex.
Fans of both Neurosis and Jarboe will love this album without a doubt. It’s a shame that there is such a small market beyond that because this is the kind of album I would love to play to all of the metal kids to prove that heavy music isn’t all about masks and makeup, and also to play it to those who think “heavy metal” is just the trash dominating radio and TV. It’s the proof that there are still musicians out there who want to be different and are pushing the boundaries of genres.
Steven McCarron
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