Jackie-O Motherfucker has tapped a lot of neglected wells since they began in 1995. They’ve mined the depths of space-rock, various international sounds, folk music and traveled to psychedelic realms. This is a band that clearly does not want or need to be fenced in. On their 15th record, Earth Sound System, Jackie-O continues that trend. This time out, Tom Greenwood is again joined by Jed and Nick Bindeman of Eternal Tapestry and Brian Mumford of Dragging and Ox Through Water, and the familiarity of the musicians shows on the recording.
The album opens with “In the Willows” a gentle psych-folk piece that gives you aglimpse of what a more sedate David Baker reunited with Mercury Rev might sound like. Jackie-O’s psych-folk stylings resurface on “Dedication” and “Bring It To Me.” These songs start as simple folk songs but quickly find themselves transformed into repeated mantras tossed across a bed of sonic chaos. The results are both gripping and meditative to the point you find yourself compelled to listen to these songs again and again. The two instrumental tracks, “Raga Joining” and “Raga Separating,” are prolonged soundscapes that can be engrossing or irritating depending on my mood, but there are layers of sound worth exploring here.
This album gives you a little bit of everything that these guys do best. If you’re looking for a good sonically rich record, you should check this out. Jackie-O Motherfucker records are typically an adventure worth taking and Earth Sound System is no exception.
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