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Jandek goes back to singing with only a bass guitar and nothing else. I wasn’t really looking forward to hearing more of it, but I was pleasantly surprised with the first few tracks on Raining Down Diamonds. The sound of the bass is so deep, dark, and rich, and strummed/picked a lot more sparsely and abstractly than I remember on the previous 2 bass albums. I kind of freaked out when I heard it, and immediately joked to my friends, “Jandek has gone dark ambient”, because the bass really does sound like dark ambient. It doesn’t have the same type of ambience throughout the whole album, because there are some differently textured picking “solos” such as the one on “Take My Will”, but the atmosphere still remains.
The vocal delivery isn’t super interesting. It’s very toned down and lethargic; there’s really no howling or screaming, which honestly made the most interesting moments on the past few albums. There is still a lot of genuine emotion, though. That emotion is mostly exhausted and depressed, though.
“What Things Are”, the most atmospheric track on the album, describes being in a dark cave and not knowing where things are, but suddenly it starts raining down diamonds and there is an amazing blinding dazzle of light. The musical style fits the imagery perfectly. The similar “I Stared” is simple and profound. The singer has forgotten everything and spends his time staring and not moving for hours, presumably because of depression, but he says he might get to know where he is and become satisfied if he knows “where you are”.
“You Ancient” is silly. He thanks the “ancients of the food god” for gifting him the privilege of knowing which things you can eat and still stay alive. “Take My Will” is very repetitive with the line “Jesus take my will / Take mine and make it yours”. The singer leaves his home to get on a train with a pack on his back and knows he’s going the right way. It reminds me of “Sticks in the Marsh” from A Kingdom He Likes, which was about choosing to abandon society and stay in a decrepit house, which is an interesting comparison because that song had the line “There is no God, God is everything / It’s all a picture we’re painting on the street”.
“New Rendezvous” has some of the most encouraging and refreshing lyrics I have ever heard from Jandek. “You’re only as young as your heart” is the key line and the song is about focusing on your heart and your thankfulness when you feel lonely or heavy in order to find true happiness and fulfillment. This is probably one of the most beautiful things Jandek ever wrote. “Your Visitor” doesn’t have an easily followable theme, but the main idea I take away is to value time spent with a loved one.
There are some pretty great lyrics on this album, but not on every song. I really like the atmosphere of the bass and the calm vocals, but it’s also quite repetitive. I really enjoyed this album but I would not say it was great or that it impressed me.
7/10
Essential album?: Maybe. Out of the 4 “Jandek plus bass guitar” albums, this would be my pick, so listen to this if you’re interested in that type of music.
Essential songs:
What Things Are
New Rendezvous
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