 |
|
JANDEK, "WHEN I TOOK THAT TRAIN"
It's no secret that 2004 was a banner year for the mysterious andprolific Texas artist who records as Jandek. Not only was it the firstyear that Corwood Industries released four albums in one year, the yearalso saw the release of Chad Freidrichs' documentary Jandek on Corwood,and the man himself made his first public appearance at a surprise gigat Glasgow's Instal Festival.
Corwood Industries
As Jandek's public presence graduallyincreases, and more information comes to light that seems to suggestthat he is pretty much a normal guy, and not a psychotic loner as manyhave suggested, the esotericism and mystique of Jandek seems to beslowly fading. In this post-Instal age, the kind of endlessspeculation, cover photo analysis and lyrical dissection that had beenthe favorite pastime of Jandek fans for more than 25 years now seemspointless. All that is left to consider now is the music itself, whichis what I intend to do in inaugurating these regular Jandek reviews inThe Brain. I find that a lot of Jandek reviews tend to recycle a lot ofthe same hyperbole, cliches and tired speculating, rather than justassess the music on its own terms, and I hope to rectify thatsituation. That brings me to Jandek's 40th studio album When I Took That Train,another entry in his recent series of albums returning to thesimplicity of acoustic guitar and vocals. No electric bass or sidelonga cappella rantings here; just 11 tracks of relatively normal length.Since Jandek went digital, the albums have gradually reduced themuddiness and "room sound" that characterizes classic Corwood albumslike Ready for the House and Six and Six, which to somemay seem an unfortunate move. In place of the appealing nebulousness ofreverb and tape noise, we hear each scrape and strum of his detunedguitar in sparkling fidelity, which makes the total lack of traditionalmusicality even more disturbing. The keyword on Train is theblues, but it's Jandek blues, which involves a spontaneous outpouringof improvised lyrics with impressionistic accompaniment on guitar.Jandek suggests the 12-bar blues with the barest skeleton of rhythm andmelody, but his playing is ugly, dark and atonal, truly an acquiredtaste. Those who haven't acquired it will doubtless grow tired of When I Took That Train,as every track—I hesitate to call them songsuses the same exact guitarnon-technique. Jandek's lyrics fixate obsessively upon a recent, stillextant relationship. He seems so insecure that the relationship mightnot last that he pours over every detail, trying desperately to findfault with his partner, and resigning himself to the possibility thatshe might leave at any moment: "If there's any time you want to look atthe exit door/Go ahead and do it/I've prepared for all that/I've beenaround." As he has gotten older, Jandek's voice has matured anddeepened, but still retains its ponderous rhythms and lonesomegraveyard wails. His vocals sound particularly strained and evocativewhen tackling abstruse mystico-religious lyrics, which he does here on"Angel Moves" and "Thing Called Me." Jandek says: "the goal of life ismake a man feel like a God," and "don't come near me/I'm a humanbeing." Along the way he evokes past failures and relationships gonesour, as well as employing the Holocaust as a metaphor for suffering.It's hard not to get all purist about Jandek and dismiss his newerwork, but once I really listened to When I Took That Train, I found it to be a rewarding album from an artist who, well into his career, shows no signs of slowing down.
Corwood Industries
As Jandek's public presence graduallyincreases, and more information comes to light that seems to suggestthat he is pretty much a normal guy, and not a psychotic loner as manyhave suggested, the esotericism and mystique of Jandek seems to beslowly fading. In this post-Instal age, the kind of endlessspeculation, cover photo analysis and lyrical dissection that had beenthe favorite pastime of Jandek fans for more than 25 years now seemspointless. All that is left to consider now is the music itself, whichis what I intend to do in inaugurating these regular Jandek reviews inThe Brain. I find that a lot of Jandek reviews tend to recycle a lot ofthe same hyperbole, cliches and tired speculating, rather than justassess the music on its own terms, and I hope to rectify thatsituation. That brings me to Jandek's 40th studio album When I Took That Train,another entry in his recent series of albums returning to thesimplicity of acoustic guitar and vocals. No electric bass or sidelonga cappella rantings here; just 11 tracks of relatively normal length.Since Jandek went digital, the albums have gradually reduced themuddiness and "room sound" that characterizes classic Corwood albumslike Ready for the House and Six and Six, which to somemay seem an unfortunate move. In place of the appealing nebulousness ofreverb and tape noise, we hear each scrape and strum of his detunedguitar in sparkling fidelity, which makes the total lack of traditionalmusicality even more disturbing. The keyword on Train is theblues, but it's Jandek blues, which involves a spontaneous outpouringof improvised lyrics with impressionistic accompaniment on guitar.Jandek suggests the 12-bar blues with the barest skeleton of rhythm andmelody, but his playing is ugly, dark and atonal, truly an acquiredtaste. Those who haven't acquired it will doubtless grow tired of When I Took That Train,as every track—I hesitate to call them songsuses the same exact guitarnon-technique. Jandek's lyrics fixate obsessively upon a recent, stillextant relationship. He seems so insecure that the relationship mightnot last that he pours over every detail, trying desperately to findfault with his partner, and resigning himself to the possibility thatshe might leave at any moment: "If there's any time you want to look atthe exit door/Go ahead and do it/I've prepared for all that/I've beenaround." As he has gotten older, Jandek's voice has matured anddeepened, but still retains its ponderous rhythms and lonesomegraveyard wails. His vocals sound particularly strained and evocativewhen tackling abstruse mystico-religious lyrics, which he does here on"Angel Moves" and "Thing Called Me." Jandek says: "the goal of life ismake a man feel like a God," and "don't come near me/I'm a humanbeing." Along the way he evokes past failures and relationships gonesour, as well as employing the Holocaust as a metaphor for suffering.It's hard not to get all purist about Jandek and dismiss his newerwork, but once I really listened to When I Took That Train, I found it to be a rewarding album from an artist who, well into his career, shows no signs of slowing down.samples:
