Chicago's Joan of Arc have and always will remain a band unafraid of losing their inhibitions. Whether it's to avoid pigeonholing or merely for the thrill of it, nothing can ever be set-and-stone as to what their succeeding work will resemble. From A Portable Model Of to Flowers, Joan of Arc's arrangements have grown quirkier and diverse with time. The label Joyful Noise Recordings did a fantastic job of documenting this progression with a 10-cassette box set containing their discography from 1997 to 2009, and are now continuing the saga with a followup to Flowers.
While one may expect Joan of Arc to progress in a comparable path, the band has opted to travel almost completely out of their element with their 2011 opus Oh Brother-- a title that may imply a groan-worthy effort, though in reality is the antithesis. Utilizing four separate member lineups and ensembles, Joan of Arc venture into discontentment amongst four side-long movements. The band has teased toward this theme before on 2005's Don't Mind Control, which compiled 18 associated acts, though never quite explored the concept to the ambit that Oh Brother's 80 minutes venture through.
In the case of Oh Brother, Joan of Arc are much less concerned about their habitual structuring of songs as much as they are deeply inquiring their sense of adventure; all limitations have been left unconsidered. The band takes no definitive form here-- instead, there are four lineups comprising the project: Friend/Enemy (featuring Hella's Zach Hill), TK/FR Duo (featuring Frank Rosaly), Likins (featuring Lichens' Rob Lowe) and Mineral Totem. These projects were initially meant to have produced complete albums, however they never entered fruition and are entwined in order to fill each side.
The outcome of this membership variability has lead to what could be Joan of Arc's most sporadic effort yet. Oh Brother begins uplifting and majestic, with brass instrumentation and harmonizing ah's, birthing the sonic equivalent of a sunrise. From there onward the band experiences a cycle of attack and diffusion, embarking on calculated math- and krautrock grooves then dissipating into musique concrète forays and folk hymns. The band's idiosyncrasy, at this point, has monumentally escalated to take precedent over every compositional choice.
Is this multitude of sounds and colors conglomerate in any way? Well, no, but if it were to undergo any kind of metamorphosis from concept to concept, Oh Brother would last for an unnecessary amount of time. This double LP has a similarly elusive quality to Zs' New Slaves in that it expunges complacency, journeying from one bewildering jam session to another across a plethora of influences. Joan of Arc's past discography may have been polarizing to critics, but Oh Brother has the capability of mesmerizing even the most averse audience.
[Joan of Arc Website]
[Buy Oh Brother from Joyful Noise Recordings]
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