Joan Of Arc - Life Like

‘Less is more’ is a phrase often tossed around the arts, describing artists’ minimal input for greater effect. Where artists would scatter fewer brush strokes across a canvas, Joan Of Arc have piled fewer instruments into their latest offering ‘Life Like’. However the effect is not a stripped back record, not by normal definition, who would expect that from Joan Of Arc? Nope, Joan Of Arc may have got rid of multiple instruments and layer upon layers of tracks; they have however kept the complexity, richness and depth you would come to expect from one of their records.

‘Life Like’ evolved over Joan Of Arc’s gruelling tour schedule; each night the band would tweak, remove and adjust parts of each song whilst playing live and discussing multiple ideas in the back of their tour van between shows. As soon as the tour finished the band laid down the album in the studio, resulting in a record tinged with straight-forward complexity and no time for fussy instrumental arrangements producing the sound of a simpler Joan Of Arc.
Opening with ‘I Saw The Messed Binds Of My Generation’, a ten minute instrumental soundscape of guitar-wankery and Pavement-esque breakdowns with Tim Kinsella’s unmistakable vocals introduced on top of the clever musicianship around seven minutes into the track. The instrumental opener is about as experimental as Joan Of Arc get on this record. The rest of the album adventures through Joan Of Arc’s familiar guitar noodling and clever drum rhythms, never really exploring their usual experimental side.

Sometimes it is hard to tell where one track starts and another begins, often changing directions at points during their songs, creating a whole new dimension to their intricate musical sculptures. Accumulating into a record that flows easily from track to track, ‘Life Like’ is a real cohesive journey through Joan Of Arcs’ musical confidence. Tim’s lyrics are always clever, witty and sung with his emotional conviction.

However as there is none of Joan Of Arc’s usual experimentation on the album, ‘Life Like’ never reaches the same great heights as previous outputs. It is however consistently good from start to finish, something that could not be said about some past releases, which would vary wildly from track to track. The ideas for ‘Life Like’ have certainly achieved a solid record, just not one with standout moments.

Joan Of Arc are playing Aberdeen’s The Tunnels on the 27th June, alongside Liverpool’s Hot Club De Paris and local acts Min Diesel and Seas, Starry. Sure to be an awesome night of music. Tickets are £9.