Jackie-O Motherfucker – Fig.5 and Liberation (All Tomorrow’ Parties)

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These ATP reissues are certainly timely. Fig.5 and Liberation, recorded in 2000 and 2001 respectively, must rate canonical works for the current free folk movement. Perhaps more than that, they are the sound of a great ensemble finding its feet and having the courage to do its own thing in a harsh musical climate. These reissues, though stripped of some of some of their original packaging extravagancies by ATP’ sober packaging style, offer a great entry point to a band that can seem impenetrable at first blush.

Fig.5, JOMF’ first CD release, is a disconcerting trawl through the dark heart of American music. The instrumentation is loose, yet indelibly rooted traditional American folk music. Banjos teeter on the point of collapse, guitars are plucked and thrashed without a sense of direction, but it all adds up to something truly moving. “Amazing Grace’ is rescued from the clutches of its slave trader author, as banjos and horns hover just above that most familiar of melodies, never fully surrendering to it. A loose choral version of “Go Down Old Hannah’, an African-American slave song praying for the going down of the sun, is devastating.

Liberation finds the band abandoning the traditional forms of their first record and sprawling themselves unhurriedly over the album’ 73 minutes. Opener “Peace on Earth’ features wailing violin, free percussion and an errant vibraphone. Only on repeated listenings does the underlying structure of this track reveal itself. “Ray-O-Graph’ follows immediately. Beginning with a slightly cheesy drum machine beat, the track sounds remarkably staid compared to what has come before. As the song progresses the beat remains unchanging providing a rock-steady anchor for Celtic tinged violin drones, saxophone warbles and bursts of random clattering percussion. This continues apace until the whole track melts down with some celestial guitar and free jazz drumming. “Northern Line’ returns to the deconstructionist folk of Fig.5 with its skeletal banjo and buried Elizabeth Cotton style vocals. Their sublime cover of Dino Valenti’ “Something on Your Mind’ is closer in spirit to Karen Dalton’ smouldering cover of the song.

While we haven’ heard anything new from this band in a while these reissues serve to remind us that they remain one of the most vital improvisational collectives on the planet.

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