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| Track list: 1. Controle 2. The Diffusion Of Our Inherent Situation 3. Semaphore 4. Faye 5. I Was Hidden 6. Jimmy Hoffa 7. Laburnum 8. Skew....Aard Running time: 57 minutes Released: 2003 |
I got into Jakob when I was passed the track Saint on a mix-CD from a friend. I loved the track and bought Solace, which remains a firm favourite, and loved that enough to seek out Jakob's other work. Despite picking up everything I could find, I have hardly listened beyond that first favourite album. I have no conscious opinion on any of these tracks, despite recognising a couple of titles. I know roughly what to expect, but do not know what I will make of specifics. On we go!
It is a slow start, quiet and building over a 30 second period as the sparkling guitars build up. It feels almost space-like, soundtracking a moonwalk or something. It is almost 90 seconds in when the drums join and give a structure to the playful little melody, grounding it some. This is relaxing thus far, but the tune lacks some of the maturity, urgency and vitality of, say, Malachite, the opening track from Solace which shares some significant elements with Controle. In fact, it is clear that Malachite is an evolution of this track, given a bit more of an edge, a greater definition. It is just a better realisation of the same idea; Controle feels like a rough demo tape, discovered long after the band were signed. I should point out that Malachite is one of my favourite tracks, particularly good for driving. Seeing its roots here is interesting in an academic sense, but also a little underwhelming.
We move on then. There is a shadow to Jakob's work, a dark theme rife with tension. Shadow cannot exist without light though and whilst a lot of the tones are threatening, low and harsh that is offset often by a soaring hopeful strand, giving the contrast that makes their music work for me. When it goes too far in one direction it loses some of the appeal, and I find moments like that in The Diffusion of Our Inherent Situation (which is an unwieldy track title to say the least). It has moments to savour, but it has, too, passages where the top end is lost and it devolves to less interesting bassy grumbles. I am more taken with the opening of Semaphore. A busy, tremulous melody and a pacy rhythm open it up, so when it goes low and growling, that top end still there buried under the fuzz, it works as an offset.
I have been buying music this morning; I realised it had been a while since I checked what was out, or due out soon, and took a trawl. I will have bought more in August than I managed to listen to in the month, which is not a good way of getting this project done. That said, it has been such a difficult few weeks one way and another, the light pattern of posting is not one that I hope to carry forward. There is a lovely transition between growly Semaphore and floaty Semaphore towards the end of the track. That moment made the tune for me, even if the floatiness ends up being an overlong outro. We dive then into a more reflective mood for Faye. This is slower, deliberate. The bass pattern is short, applied in turn to each of a few notes, and giving as much space as possible to the melody. The tune then surprises me by introducing vocal elements. I cannot make out words and wouldn't suddenly call this a song. If this were review and not play report I would have been remiss I guess to not mention before now that Jakob are an instrumental outfit, and if you had to slap a label on them then that label would say Post Rock.
I feel out of practice writing these, mostly because I am. I am finding less to pick up on, fewer thoughts arriving that are related to what I am hearing whilst more general cogitation goes on instead. This will be an odd read, I suspect. Case in point, I Was Hidden feels a little flat. Nice enough tune but no real distinguishing features arise to prompt me to commit anything interesting to words.
From this point on the tracks are longer again. Controle was over 8 minutes, but the numbers since then are all less than 6. Long is usual in this genre, and perhaps that length encourages variations that will bring about discussion. We'll see. Jimmy Hoffa has a nice cadence to it as it begins. A determined walk or stride. There is a nice balance between the bass and the wandering lead line, enough space between them to sail an oil tanker to begin with, this closes up as the top end tightens into something more definite, less flighty. The gap closes altogether as the tune develops, advancing into a churning swell, drums kicking up a notch and everything crescendos together. Then it breaks up, circling around again. The percussion has a more definite presence in maintaining that distance between treble and bass now, almost as if they cleared the decks. The tune is suddenly over. My mind wandered, I lost my train of thought, and I am only snapped back to it by the transition to the next track.
This is a very different tune. Slow, mournful opening. Funerial almost. It becomes more palatable once the drums join in to provide some context to the piece. It opens up and gets a more hopeful sound in places, whilst still maintaining that sad theme beneath it all. I think I really like this track. I wasn't sure about the beginning, but the way it builds and shifts is incredibly soothing, although it has a little of the effect of a mind wipe as I found myself drifting blankly for the majority of the duration and again only stirred as it reached denouement.The end point of the album now, complete with weird use of 4 periods. It isn't an ellipsis, misused, in the middle of Skew....Aard. This track is darker, slower, grinding feedback, less defined top end, a real buzzing throb of a track. My only problem with it is that it goes on a little too long without changing that up enough. I find myself without much in the way of words to accompany the ongoing sound, or better to explain how it walks the tightrope between being boringly samey, disappointingly noisy and yet very listenable at the same time. The track only changes up for the very end when the melody that was hinted at in Controle, and would become Malachite appears briefly as a vanishing lead out. It makes me feel like I should be ragging on them for overuse of the same theme, but frankly when it evolved to become one of my favourite things, the most I can manage is a cheeky finger-wag.
Overall this is a pointer, a sign towards Solace. Nothing like as accomplished, but just about interesting enough to stand on its own.
It is a slow start, quiet and building over a 30 second period as the sparkling guitars build up. It feels almost space-like, soundtracking a moonwalk or something. It is almost 90 seconds in when the drums join and give a structure to the playful little melody, grounding it some. This is relaxing thus far, but the tune lacks some of the maturity, urgency and vitality of, say, Malachite, the opening track from Solace which shares some significant elements with Controle. In fact, it is clear that Malachite is an evolution of this track, given a bit more of an edge, a greater definition. It is just a better realisation of the same idea; Controle feels like a rough demo tape, discovered long after the band were signed. I should point out that Malachite is one of my favourite tracks, particularly good for driving. Seeing its roots here is interesting in an academic sense, but also a little underwhelming.
We move on then. There is a shadow to Jakob's work, a dark theme rife with tension. Shadow cannot exist without light though and whilst a lot of the tones are threatening, low and harsh that is offset often by a soaring hopeful strand, giving the contrast that makes their music work for me. When it goes too far in one direction it loses some of the appeal, and I find moments like that in The Diffusion of Our Inherent Situation (which is an unwieldy track title to say the least). It has moments to savour, but it has, too, passages where the top end is lost and it devolves to less interesting bassy grumbles. I am more taken with the opening of Semaphore. A busy, tremulous melody and a pacy rhythm open it up, so when it goes low and growling, that top end still there buried under the fuzz, it works as an offset.
I have been buying music this morning; I realised it had been a while since I checked what was out, or due out soon, and took a trawl. I will have bought more in August than I managed to listen to in the month, which is not a good way of getting this project done. That said, it has been such a difficult few weeks one way and another, the light pattern of posting is not one that I hope to carry forward. There is a lovely transition between growly Semaphore and floaty Semaphore towards the end of the track. That moment made the tune for me, even if the floatiness ends up being an overlong outro. We dive then into a more reflective mood for Faye. This is slower, deliberate. The bass pattern is short, applied in turn to each of a few notes, and giving as much space as possible to the melody. The tune then surprises me by introducing vocal elements. I cannot make out words and wouldn't suddenly call this a song. If this were review and not play report I would have been remiss I guess to not mention before now that Jakob are an instrumental outfit, and if you had to slap a label on them then that label would say Post Rock.
I feel out of practice writing these, mostly because I am. I am finding less to pick up on, fewer thoughts arriving that are related to what I am hearing whilst more general cogitation goes on instead. This will be an odd read, I suspect. Case in point, I Was Hidden feels a little flat. Nice enough tune but no real distinguishing features arise to prompt me to commit anything interesting to words.
From this point on the tracks are longer again. Controle was over 8 minutes, but the numbers since then are all less than 6. Long is usual in this genre, and perhaps that length encourages variations that will bring about discussion. We'll see. Jimmy Hoffa has a nice cadence to it as it begins. A determined walk or stride. There is a nice balance between the bass and the wandering lead line, enough space between them to sail an oil tanker to begin with, this closes up as the top end tightens into something more definite, less flighty. The gap closes altogether as the tune develops, advancing into a churning swell, drums kicking up a notch and everything crescendos together. Then it breaks up, circling around again. The percussion has a more definite presence in maintaining that distance between treble and bass now, almost as if they cleared the decks. The tune is suddenly over. My mind wandered, I lost my train of thought, and I am only snapped back to it by the transition to the next track.
This is a very different tune. Slow, mournful opening. Funerial almost. It becomes more palatable once the drums join in to provide some context to the piece. It opens up and gets a more hopeful sound in places, whilst still maintaining that sad theme beneath it all. I think I really like this track. I wasn't sure about the beginning, but the way it builds and shifts is incredibly soothing, although it has a little of the effect of a mind wipe as I found myself drifting blankly for the majority of the duration and again only stirred as it reached denouement.The end point of the album now, complete with weird use of 4 periods. It isn't an ellipsis, misused, in the middle of Skew....Aard. This track is darker, slower, grinding feedback, less defined top end, a real buzzing throb of a track. My only problem with it is that it goes on a little too long without changing that up enough. I find myself without much in the way of words to accompany the ongoing sound, or better to explain how it walks the tightrope between being boringly samey, disappointingly noisy and yet very listenable at the same time. The track only changes up for the very end when the melody that was hinted at in Controle, and would become Malachite appears briefly as a vanishing lead out. It makes me feel like I should be ragging on them for overuse of the same theme, but frankly when it evolved to become one of my favourite things, the most I can manage is a cheeky finger-wag.
Overall this is a pointer, a sign towards Solace. Nothing like as accomplished, but just about interesting enough to stand on its own.
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