Review Summary: ???
That cover unnerves me.
No, seriously, hear me out on this.
The room in that cover is just so empty. It feels edited, as in someone removed something out of it. It looks like a crime scene photo that’s been cropped so that you can’t see the body. It’s an odd choice for an album cover. However, it is an alluring one. Looking at this picture makes you want to learn more about it. You think to yourself,
”Whose home is this?” Then another question comes to mind:
”Why is this an album cover?”. Another thought enters your head:
”What does the album sound like?” Pretty soon, all you can find yourself thinking about is this obscure little record. Questions and thoughts flood your mind, mentally blinding you of literally everything else going on. For you, this will continue until you think about the catalyst of all your thoughts:
”Who is Jandek?”.
This is about the point that you begin to find yourself doing as much research as you can on the character that is Jandek. Truth be told, there has been a lot that has been said on the music, but very little on man himself. My point is this: No one
really knows who he is. Rumor has it is that he is a machinist by the name of Sterling Smith who resides in Texas, but alas, none of that has been confirmed. The lack of information on the subject, in a way, makes Jandek’s music all the more attractive. The mysterious nature that surrounds it, plus the lack of any official promotion makes it so that his albums feel more like long lost documents than simple recordings.
Listening to his debut,
Ready for the House, almost feels like you’ve broke into an old, abandoned house, looking through all the rubble only to find all sorts of strange things. Musically,
Ready for the House is somewhat hard to describe. In style, the songs on this record are reminiscent of folk and blues music. The thing about Jandek, however, is that he performs with his guitar out of tune. He doesn’t seem to try to be angular and noisy, however, for he legitimately tries to make some sort of melody with his freaky, untuned strings. His vocal style matches his guitar, for he “sings” in this weak, fragile whimper that gives off the impression that he’s at least in his late 80s.
This is a strange album, to say the least, but what makes it even more unsettling are the lyrics. The conviction in his voice as he sings lines such as
”Too late! Too late! Blind man’s coming!” makes him sound legitimately scared, only giving the album an even more disjointed and disturbing tone to it. Also, before I forget to mention it, “Naked In The Afternoon” is perhaps the creepiest ways to open up any album, ever. This track pretty much represents the album’s antisocial, depressed sound the best. The way Jandek croons the beginning lines
”I had a vision of a teenage daughter who’s growing up naked” sends chills down my spine everytime I listen to it.
If you were to ask me what tracks to check out first from this album, I wouldn’t be able to respond due to the fact that it’s somewhat hard to differentiate each individual song off of it. While this would normally be considered as a bad thing for most people, me included, it actually works in the album’s favour. Each song transitions into each other flawlessly, giving off the impression that the whole album is just one long song. Bringing back the abandoned house comparison from earlier, each track is like another room in the house, chuck full of obscure finds that almost helps you understand the house’s history a little bit more. Each room contains a massive hole in the wall, too, making it easier to enter the next room. Then, after you seen all you could find in the house, it just ends.
The closer “European Jewel (Incomplete)” is, as evident by its title, unfinished. Literally, it just cuts off at the end. In this track, Jandek changes from an acoustic guitar to an electric, but just like the acoustic tracks, the guitar is untuned. The strumming feels a lot lighter and, to an extent, happy. His croak, however, is just as unhappy and bleak as before. The imagery isn't pretty, to say the least. The last few lines are probably the most negative of the entire album,
“You got an infection, there’s bugs in my brain, I can’t feel any pain, just a shaking sha-”
And that’s it. The album simply cuts off right there.
It’s an interesting ending because it leaves you so hungry, so dissatisfied, so interested.
”Why did he end it like that? What did he felt?”
Then you start to think of other questions, such as
”Who is Jandek? Why did he write these songs?” For the next couple of minutes, all you can think about is this obscure little record. Thoughts and questions about the subject seem to be all you are able to think about. However, they’re the kind of questions that pretty much lack any real answers. You can do as much research on the artist, and you might find some interesting tidbits of information, but for the most part you’ll still find yourself back to square one: Confused.
