Track-reviews-header
Neurosis & Jarboe
“His Last Words”

[2003]
This song, from the new collaboration between dark ambient/metal band Neurosis and former Swans vocalist Jarboe, should be a fine trip down gothic horror lane. It certainly has its charms: the otherworldly, electronic introduction with Jarboe's phoned-in (literally) spook-verse and Neurosis' admirable approximation of the Swans aesthetic. However, somewhere along the line-- probably the point when I can actually start making out Jarboe's lyrics-- it becomes apparent that melodramatic poetry thrash may have seen its best days. She wonders if I can see what she sees when I'm high, talks about educated men who recite Shakespeare and trees in Latin, and laments "his last words." As the tune winds down in a spiraling cycle of metallic torment, it occurs to me that I should probably feel a lot worse than I do. Maybe this stuff requires the right drugs to bring out its painful beauty, or needs me to be as depressed as Jarboe sounds. Either way, it never fully takes hold.
Recent-track-reviews
Horizontal-dotbar-fw