Neurosis & Jarboe – Review

Neurosis & Jarboe

(Neurot)
by Craig Regala

OK, if you’re unfamiliar with these people, Neurosis is a cool post-metal/hard-edge/industrial unit who dove deep into a “tribal” rhythmic structure with hum, poke, and drone on the top. Metal stomp, trance-outs, death folk; no genre holds their creative bulk captive, they blend and bend’m to suit their muse. Jarboe is a singer who came to prominence as she joined the Swans in the latter half of their existence. She has also recorded solo and in other combos within that band’s sphere.

What’s going on here is akin to what Jarboe was doing with the Swans when they recorded Children of God. The Swan song “Blood and Honey” could be a precursor to this album’s “Receive.” Mix the titles and you’ll catch the right wave. Those deeper into it than I detect Enemy of the Sun-era Neurosis drum patterns throughout the disc. As it was done as an e-collaboration, hell, maybe they did lift some of their actual tracks. If it’s good enough for Lee Scratch Perry (one of the men who brought “dub” technique to the world. Trust me, if you have ears, you’ve heard the seed of his DNA), you sure don’t get to bitch.

Jarboe sings atop and within the continual whir and throb with a clean and pure (although varying) tone of death and redemption, even if the “words” don’t specifically spell it out for you. That’s the program. If there was a “pop” version of this combo, it’d be a three-way between Mr. Reznor (in non-rump-shaking mode), the singer from Evanescence, and Tool.
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