- Release Info -------------------------------------------------------------- -
Artist: Josiah Wolf
Album: Jet Lag
Label: Anticon
Playtime: 46:37 min
Genre: Indie
URL:
Rip date: 2010-03-20
Street date: 2010-03-16
Size: 61.57 MB
Type: Normal
Quality: 174 kbps / 4410kHz / Joint Stereo
- Release Notes ------------------------------------------------------------- -
Those who have followed WHY?Æs trajectory over the years ù from hip-hop
abstractionism to heady avant-folk ù wonÆt be surprised by the familiar feel
of Jet Lag, the solo debut of WHY? drummer Josiah Wolf. What might surprise
some people, though, is how huge a role the elder Wolf has obviously played
in that bandÆs transformation. SoleÆs recent departure from Anticon opens an
easy window for critics to talk about how far the label has departed from its
rap roots, and Wolf's album could be the prime example for those arguments.
There is nothing remotely hip-hop about this record; unfortunately, thereÆs
nothing too interesting either.
WolfÆs voice sounds alternately like The Arcade FireÆs Win Butler and Yo La
TengoÆs Ira Kaplan, depending on the intensity of the song; more often than
not, itÆs the latter. In fact, much of the album sounds straight out of the
indie rock 90s, all slacker folk-y and politely cynical. The album starts out
promisingly enough, with opener ôThe Trailer and the Truckö employing bells
and vibes, layered and lush. ItÆs the most upbeat track of the album, but
itÆs misleading. Jet Lag, as the press release makes abundantly clear, is a
depressing fucking record. It was written following the dissolution of a
lengthy relationship ù Wolf uses "jet lag" in this instance as a sort of
extended metaphor for the post-traumatic stress one might experience after
such harrowing change. The last line of ôTrailerö sets the stage for the
albumÆs melancholy: "But then there was this flood/ And when we finally came
out from the mud/ With the trailer and the truck/ I just got stuck."
And then ù well, Wolf just gets stuck. The songs on this record rehash the
same self-loathing sentiments over and over again. On ôThe Apart Meant,ö
there's öItÆs bad to not know how to care/ But to know how not to care.ö On
ôThat Kind of Man,ö there's ôEverything that flowers soon will end.ö This is
bleak stuff, and itÆs generally not all that remarkable. Though the albumÆs
instrumentation is often vibrant, WolfÆs fixation on the same sad-sack
sentiments engenders a listless musical milieu. Folks like Dave Berman have
walked these paths for years, but WolfÆs poetry isnÆt as incisive; they're
mostly clumsy and overreaching. Where Berman might sneer out a pithy
one-liner aimed at a cheating ex, Wolf gets lost in tepid mumbling, the
musical equivalent of the guy at the end of the bar staring forlornly into
his whiskey. Not to belabor the Silver Jews comparisons, as they inevitably
will be pervasive in reviews of Jet Lag, but it goes to show how much better
Berman is at this sort of thing.
All that said, the album does contain its share of worthwhile moments.
ThereÆs the unexpected melodic twist in ôIn the Seam,ö where Wolf, with a
sudden spark of newfound realism, intones, "Julie, Julie/ You move right
through me" in a moment thatÆs quietly exhilarating. ThereÆs a similarly
magnificent moment in the gentle, ambling chorus of "Master Cleanse
(California)." Indeed, Wolf is clearly a capable songwriter and even a good
one when he manages to breach the trappings of his own claustrophobic psyche,
but the breakup record is not something everyone can do well. Perhaps, at
heart, Wolf just isnÆt a miserable enough person to pull it off convincingly.
I bet once he cheers up, heÆll deliver something great.
- Track List ---------------------------------------------------------------- -
01. The Trailer And The Truck ( 2:54)
02. Master Cleanse (California) ( 2:38)
03. The Opposite Of Breathing ( 4:06)
04. The New Car ( 3:51)
05. Skull In The Ice ( 4:11)
06. The Apart Meant ( 3:54)
07. That Kind Of Man ( 3:19)
08. Ohioho ( 5:16)
09. Is The Body Hung ( 3:32)
10. In The Seam ( 4:12)
11. Gravity Defied ( 5:24)
12. The One Sign ( 3:20)
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