Jarboe / Justin K Broadrick ‘J2’ CDEP 2008

Jarboe / Justin K Broadrick 'J2' CDEP 2008I played this for a friend of mine recently and his main reaction was “I would not fancy this on acid”. Indeed, and I can see where he is coming from. This release is strange and atmospheric, also at times rather unsettling. That said there is also a thread of calmness and definite beauty running though the music.

Track one ‘Decay’ sets the stage wonderfully for this excellent collaboration. Starting with the haunting choir like vocal of Jarboe which is soon joined by heavy brooding riff courtesy of Mr Broadrick. Yet as the track progresses both vocal and riff descend into an altogether more twisted entity. Next up ‘Let Go’ is a stunning mix of beauty (Jarboe’s vocal) and darkness (Justin’s accompaniment). And it goes on, there is not a bad number on this, with each track possessing it’s own unique charm.

My fave is ‘Romp’ which has great piano part with Jarboe singing in what sounds like French. Apparently this was supposed to be a full length album but due to schedule restraints it ended up being the EP, so let’s hope they do some more stuff together and we will see a full length in the future. Also some gigs would be awesome; I reckon this would be quite something live.

A great release and a collaboration worth shouting about.

Label: The End Records
Jarboe: www.thelivingjarboe.com
Justin K Broadrick: www.avalancheinc.co.uk

Scribed by: Mark Burns