Jandek - The Door Behind - Review

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The Door Behind consists of more electric guitar songs; it’s more interesting than acoustic or bass so I’m pleased. The playing sounds really improvised and the notes constantly changed unexpectedly throughout each song. The instrumentation was somewhat engaging. I think I prefer it over the previous album. I actually really enjoyed the vocal delivery. It was very depressive and could be described as howling or wailing, and ranks above some of the previous few albums. Sometimes I have to stop and forget that every Jandek album essentially sounds the same, because when taken out of the context of the rest of the albums that sound just like this, The Door Behind is actually quite beautiful and heartbreaking on its own.

The lyrical content is very similar to The End of it All, with a major focus on relationships. “Do You Want Me” is simple and connects to the last song from the last album. “I’m in your world / And you’re in mine / You got one side / I got the other”. “Gate Strikes One” is about what I assume to be a recollection of Jandek’s first romantic experience. Another connection to the previous album is the constant use of the word “like” instead of “love”, which has a childlike connotation, because when you’re a kid in school you “like” your classmate, you don’t “have feelings” for them. The whole situation of the song is described in a simple, straightforward way that really sounds like the way a kid would describe that type of experience. I like the irony of it all.

“I’m Not That Good” is about the “desert calling me” and his fear surrounding what could be there. OK lyrics. “The Slow Burn” is confusing. It starts with what sounds like census questions or something about whether he’s married or not. He describes how he wants to be alone because someone has burned down his house. He says that when they’re gone, he’ll live in a new house, but he also slips in the line “You can be my princess”. There’s also the amusing line “I need to kill those squirrels running around in the top of my head” stuck in the middle, which aptly describes my confusion around this song. I like how indecisive and cranky it is, though.

“It’s Only You” and “Every Sentence” are both love songs, but something is very off-putting about them, including his musical performance. The former song features rapid, ominous guitar. The singer is quite obsessive about the woman he loves and quite literally worships the ground she walks on and the air she breathes, but it doesn’t sound like the love is returned (“And love me, I love you”). The individual lyrics are very romantic, but they just make me worry that something is amiss behind the scene. 

I like that the lyrics continue the story from the last album. It’s very similar to it too, but slightly better (not “great” by any means, though). I also just really like the depressing musical style in general, even if it’s pretty much the same thing on every album.

6.8/10

Essential album?: No

Essential songs: 

The Slow Burn