Neurot Recordings is proud to reissue the landmark collaboration NEUROSIS & JARBOE, which was originally released in 2003. This latest version, which is fully remastered and features entirely new artwork from Aaron Turner, will be available on August 2nd, on vinyl for the first time, as well as CD and digital formats. Preorders for the album have been posted along with the new artwork and more.
When two independent and distinct spheres overlap, the resulting ellipse tends to emphasize the most striking and powerful characteristics of each body. Such is the case with this particular collaboration between heavy music pioneers NEUROSIS and the multi-faceted performer JARBOE (who performed in Swans and who has collaborated with an array of people from Blixa Bargeld, J. G. Thirlwell, Attila Csihar, Bill Laswell, Merzbow, Justin K. Broadrick, Helen Money, Father Murphy, and many others). The musicians pull from one another some of the most harrowing and unusual sounds ever heard from either artist at the time; a sentiment which also rings true to some fifteen years later.
NEUROSIS’ Steve Von Till explains the idea behind the remastering; “Bob Weston [Chicago Mastering Service, and member of Shellac] worked closely with Noah [Landis, NEUROSIS] on making these new versions sound as good as the possibly can. Noah has the most trained critical ear for fidelity out of all of us being an engineer himself. We recorded this ourselves with consumer level Pro Tools back then, in order to be able to experiment at home in getting different sounds and writing spontaneously. The technology has come a long way since then and we thought we could run it through better digital to analog conversion and trusted Bob Weston to be able to bring out the best in it… This new mastered version is a bit more open, with a better stereo image, and better final EQ treatment.”
He continues about the original artwork, “Aaron felt he could create something that would unify the energy of both JARBOE and NEUROSIS in an elegant manner. We let him do his thing and I think it definitely adds to the mystery of the album and sets it apart from the rest of our catalog.”
Neurot Recordings will release the Neurosis & Jarboe reissue on August 2nd through all digital providers, on CD, and for the first time on vinyl, the LP pressed on silver metallic and black swirl colors for their US and EU distributors, and on red and black swirl exclusively for mailorder. Deathwish Inc will exclusively share the LP in red transparent and gold metallic opaque swirl.
Neurosis & Jarboe Track Listing:
1. Within
2. His Last Words
3. Taker
4. Receive
5. Erase
6. Cringe
7. In Harm’s Way
8. Seizure
NEUROSIS & JARBOE opens with a high-pitched whirring sound winding up as Jason Roeder’s ominous tom-drum beat and Noah Landis’ slinking synth line writhe in unison until JARBOE drops in, drawing in her characteristic, corrupted Southern belle voice, “I tell ya, if God wants to take me, He will.” From there on in, the album is a series of abrupt shifts and cleverly juxtaposed themes that flows in a rhythm of its own. The sinister and ethereal sounds, vocal coos and electro-pulses of “His Last Words” seem like the perfect soundtrack to a David Lynch film. On “Erase,” song parts are dissected and grafted one atop the other, continually building tension as JARBOE wails and yelps with banshee fervor. The project began with the artists working in seclusion, recording the elements that would best highlight their own characteristic integrity and personality, rather than either attempting to mimic one another’s familiar elements. As recorded ideas were passed back and forth, the collaboration proved to bring out the most unhinged and urgent talents of all those involved. Throughout the album, that signature “NEUROSIS note” – the sound of something simultaneously recoiling and erupting, the apocalyptic tone announcing the birth of a new world – reaches its apex and becomes ever icier and eviscerating. Guitarists Steve Von Till and Scott Kelly trim their tones for cleaner, chorus-drenched effects layered between the thunderous distortion blasts of bassist Dave Edwardson. Likewise, JARBOE’s operatic wail and other vocal contortions sound perfectly suited to the eruptive emotional fray of the music.
The collaboration is a deeply textured mosaic that is a culmination of merged aesthetics from two major influences on free-thinking sounds. It unlocked the hidden potential of electronic music as a new force in heavy rock. At a time when groups like Oneida, Wolf Eyes, and Black Dice were beginning to experiment with technology in making mind-numbing leaden electro-drone freed from any essence of “dance music,” Neurosis & Jarboe redefined all notions of their past – and outlined the course of heavy music to come. It’s interesting to look back through the lens of this release and think about these ideas and concepts in the present.
Neurosis & Jarboe remains the meeting point of all art that takes us beyond ourselves.
NEUROSIS Tour Dates:
w/ Yob, Kowloon Walled City
7/11/2019 Roman Ampitheater – Rome Ostia Antica, IT
7/12/2019 Carroponte – Milan, IT
7/13/2019 Dour Festival – Dour, BE
7/14/2019 Dachstock – Bern, CH
7/16/2019 Sala Apolo – Barcelona, ES
7/17/2019 Biarritz Atabal – Biarritz, FR
7/18/2019 Bataclan – Paris, FR
7/19-21/2019 Supersonic Festival – Birmingham, UK
7/20/2019 O2 Forum Kentish Town – London, UK w/ Godflesh
7/22/2019 Metal Days – Tolmin, SI (no Yob)
7/23/2019 Arena – Vienna, AT
7/24/2019 Akvarium – Budapest, HU
7/25/2019 Festsaal Kreuzberg – Berlin, DE
7/26/2019 Progresia – Warsaw, PL
7/27/2019 B90 – Gdansk, PL
w/ Bell Witch, Deafkids
8/07/2019 The Masquerade – Atlanta, GA
8/08/2019 Cat’s Cradle – Carrboro, NC
8/09/2019 9:30 Club – Washington, DC
8/10/2019 Theatre Of Living Arts – Philadelphia, PA
8/11/2019 Brooklyn Steel – Brooklyn, NY
8/13/2019 Paradise Rock Club – Boston, MA
8/14/2019 Corona Theatre – Montreal, QC
8/15/2019 The Opera House – Toronto, ON
8/16/2019 St. Andrews Hall – Detroit, MI
8/17/2019 Thalia Hall – Chicago, IL
