Experimental wonder – Exploratory one-man band from Switzerland, synthesizing many different styles and genres such as those designed as psychedelic-electronic analog circuit no-wave, industrial, ambient, shoegaze, pop, trip-hop ...
I must admit that, despite the fact that these days are the ones of musical hyper-production where our internet keeps on pouring down one track after another, it had been a while that I had not had encountered such an arduous album to review.
John 3:16 is the solo project of an unnamed Swiss musician from the Geneva area, who would describes his music as experimental / ambient / drone / electronic. This is exactly it. And while this does not pose any particular problem per se, the close examination of this 20-minute EP unveiled its singular complexity.
I could sum it up by describing it as an organic-electronic mix of these above-mentioned genres blended into 5 instrumental tracks in which analog instruments, samplings and/or electronic machines are used. Actually, the problem is not even to define and reveal the technical details, but it rather lies in the difficulty to explain how all of this fusions.
In some sequences, the music seems to be purely experimental: some patterns of an extremely psychedelic ambient pop intertwined with industrial, rock, post-punk, avant-garde, no wave and trip-hop. The more I listened to these tracks, the more I realized that the impression they left me was each time a different one and I cannot help but thinking that this somehow was what the artist wanted. As if the primary idea was to confuse the listener by imposing different approaches of composition in which music genres, until recently considered as incompatible, articulate with each other.
My main headache reviewing this album came from the usage of the drum sound. Indeed, the drum beats at the pace of the dance style within a dense conglomerate of textures held together by a gloss of 'pop' music which reminds of early Swans, Cocteau Twins and The Cure, although the differences between these new tracks and the three bands listed as reference are quite essential. John 3:16 opposes the latent aggressiveness and brutality of no-wave/industrial music to the sensitivity of alternative pop and ambient music, including rock from the times of post-punk and goth, all merged in a totally new sound dimension. It happened to me that we might be facing here a whole new genre, a hybrid that has no name, and, as such, is unique. In any case, this work has all the fundamental characteristics of an avant-pop which will be difficult to classify, rationalize or categorize at the image of Mark Stewart’s experience after leaving the Pop Group and embarking with The Maffia on a study of funk, hip-hop, electronic,...
Usually, this collection of styles creates more 'noise' and ambiguity, but here the artist succeeded in composing layered structures which display a vast array of skills. He uses bass guitar, guitar, synth and drums in an experienced way and displays the skills of new-wave/post-punk talented musicians. I wouldn’t describe him as a virtuoso, but as a skillful composer with stylistic nuances. Besides, the titles of the tracks and EP clearly show that his main task was to relate a story which speaks about interconnectivity of earthly and spiritual lives. Of course, everything would have been far easier to interpret and understand had this musical style and genre previously existed ; it is generally more problematic when an artist creates an original sound and immediately associates it to a theme focused on metaphysics. This leads to many assumptions and approximations and opens the door for conflicting interpretations.
The introductory "Earthly father", only lasting a minute and a half, came as an experimental ambient 'intro' which emerges from nowhere, and immediately after that the "In the name of the Lord" confronts us with its no-wave aesthetic of early Swans, psychedelic tremolo guitars, transcendental sessions, silent gothic voices, pop tunes like the old classic The Cure and very nice airy guitar solos in the spirit of Cocteau Twins or even of Shoegaze bands like MBV or Pale Saints. All of this organized in a very complex arrangement, each subsequent section being different and banishing any repetition, which takes us out of the standard format of pop songs: intro-verse-chorus-solo. "Obey God" is another repetitive industrial / no-wave piece interlaced with electronic-guitar parts, the shorter "Redemption" is full of ambient interlude psychedelic 'drive trip', and the final track "Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God" testifies of a complex structure which includes almost inaudible spoken-word vocals placed at the very end of the track. There are also here musical patterns of the family of experimental-psychedelic, industrial and no-wave, inviting some tip- toeing trip-hop which ultimately leaves the listener totally confused.
To cut it short - "Sinners In The Hands Of An Angry God" is very difficult to apprehend for unprepared listeners. John 3:16 has invested a lot of knowledge in these tracks which resulted in them being truly original. He has beyond doubt invented a new musical genre that reaches far beyond the pure musical experiment. It has a meaning and a creative charge. Finally this far-from-absurd pioneering project may be looked at as a true bold creative act, a rare move in our current musical scene.
Note [1-10]: 8
horvi // 18/01/2012
