Joan of Arc
"Boo! Human" CD
Polyvinyl
Genre: indie rock, post-rock
June 2008 |
A difficult album to wrap up mentally, and an even harder one to
summarize, Boo! Human is a pop record that bounds quixotically
from idea to idea but never loses its momentum. Despite strolling
through a myriad of influences and genres, including acoustic guitar
pop, shifty post-rock, and quirky Half Japanese-esque
experimentation, Joan of Arc never lose sight of their melodic
sensibility. Hence, this record manages to tread that fine line
between the accessible and the interesting. That isn't to say your
average Maroon 5 fan is going to give this a second look, but
it does make this record a refreshing break from the college circuit
norm.
Although this record plays something like a stylistic scattergories,
there are certainly some recurring themes on tap. Post-rock, itself a
difficult genre to pin down, seems to come up a fair bit, whether it's
the mathy, angular guitars and jazzy rhythms of "Laughter Reflected
Back" or the rolling, man-on-a-mission vibe of Firebird Band-esque
"The Surrender #2". Also prevalent is an eye for a more accessible pop
sensibility, as seen on the longing "Shown and Told" (think Mojave 3),
and "A Tell-Tale Penis," an immensely beautiful pop song harnessed
by a simple acoustic guitar melody.
Meanwhile, "If There Was a Time #1" is a rolling, bucolic folk-pop
tune that juxtaposes a warm country vibe with JoA's standard
edginess, and the dreadfully brooding "Vine on a Wire" boasts
instrumentation straight out of Bowser's castle. One
major qualm I have with Boo! Human is its mediocre closer,
"So-and-So," which is a befittingly so-so track whose simple
combination of strummed acoustic guitar and vocals (replete with
Barlow-esque personal lyrics) proves a major letdown due to a lack
of a decent melody. Still, the vast majority of this album is
certainly worthy of attention, and while the record's eclectic nature
can make it difficult to grasp as a cohesive album, the quality of the
content has left it a joy to explore.
joan of arc's
myspace
87%
youuuuuuuutube!:
the surrender live,
vine on a wire live
Matt Shimmer
[Vitals: 14 tracks, distributed by
the
label,
released May 20, 2008] |
