On Sightings (Consouling Sounds), experimental artist and performer Jarboe creates a sonically understated, mysterious, and beautiful album built around the central inspiration of a vireo and his captivating song.
For those unfamiliar with the solo career of former Swans vocalist/keyboard player Jarboe, her extensive oeuvre can be an intimidating world to find a doorway into given the sheer number of releases and variety from one set of recordings to the next.
While much of her nineties and early two-thousands’ output (on albums such as Thirteen Masks, Sacrificial Cake and the magnificent but harrowing Anhedoniac) can, at least to some degree, be understood within a Rock context, many of Jarboe’s releases of the past 20 years or so are difficult to easily categorise, beyond the somehow unsatisfying label of “experimental.”
Certainly, there are recurring musical and spiritual motifs that can often (if not always) be found somewhere in Jarboe’s records — from her enduring practices of Buddhism and meditation, to her simple but elegant piano melodies, and of course, her highly versatile vocal performances.
For all of the meditative spirit in much of Jarboe’s music, darkness is rarely too far away and sometimes the performances and music can be particularly intense. This isn’t just a matter of the occasional moments where she has swam into certain Metal waters (as she did previously on Mahakali and her Neurosis collaboration), but for example on various cuts from the recently reissued Disburden Disciple where Jarboe tackled themes of death, sickness, and emotional suffering (sometimes expressed through vocal performances that can be intentionally harsh and jarring).
Sightings, by comparison, is one of Jarboe’s most ambient and soothing releases. There are no screams (well, aside from the field recordings of a fox on “Choir And Night Fox,” one of the record’s more ominous tracks). Lyrics are minimal, while instrumentally the album often builds around ambient soundscapes, piano, and various hand percussion (courtesy of frequent collaborator Thor Harris — one of several collaborators on the record).
There is “singing” (as opposed to what might more often be called “vocalising”) from Jarboe on closer “Of Ancient Memory” (reworked from 1991’s Thirteen Masks) and opener “The Holy Waters” (though even here, much of the track is instrumental, evolving from a persistent percussive rhythm into a sombre musical movement featuring string and wind instruments, before the percussive and vocal themes return to give the track a certain circularity.
Then of course, there is the vocal performance of the aforementioned vireo — the centrepiece of “Vireo Serenade” and essentially the album itself. Perhaps Jarboe’s vocal understatement through the record is a way to respect and give space to the bird that appeared daily at her house one summer, apparently singing directly to her and sometimes for 45 minutes at a time, according to Jarboe.
She would ultimately make recordings of this “serenade” (part of which are used here), and there is something particularly beautiful and poignant in how Jarboe honours this experience with the delicate musical arrangement that she puts together around the bird song.
While much of Sightings is musically sparse (the various stringed instruments, woodwind, brass, percussion, keyboards, and effects used subtly), this is not ambient background music. Even on her more dreamlike and hypnotic releases (which this album is certainly one of), Jarboe’s music always comes with a sense of deep conviction and singular intent that deserves concentration and attention.
If anything, Sightings feels something like a sacred ritual or spiritual practice. You could put this on while you did the dishes if you wished, but to really absorb the quiet power and beauty of the record, just sit with it and give yourself over to it.
Buy the album here:
https://store.consouling.be/collections/jarboe-sightings/experimental
8 / 10
TOM OSMAN
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