Review Summary: Genius
Nicolas Jaar is a man whose stock is on the rise. His crackling and subtle debut LP,
Space is Only Noise, was ranked the #1 album of 2011 by Resident Advisor and a handful of others despite its slower pace and ambient feel. While garnering an incredibly loyal and ever increasing fan base, he has also toured at some of the most well-known venues all across the world. Despite being only 22 years old, the Chilean-American musician even owns his own record label,
Clown & Sunset.
The chilling two track EP,
Don’t Break My Love, provides every bit of the crackling and eerie atmosphere that he’s known for. In both songs, Jaar moves deliberately, drawing things out at his own pace to capture their full essence. By the time the refrain “Don’t Break my Love” repeats itself, Jaar is able to guide listeners to complete awe, admiring the environment he has manifested. He has full command over his strange arsenal of sounds throughout and, while a little grating at first, once the listener adjusts to his style, Nicolas shows unparalleled talent.
But the climax occurs before the eerie, mumbling, “Why Didn’t You Save Me”. After the tribalistic drum has mesmerized us, after the wind chimes and effects have dulled us to nothing, everything is so sad and quiet. Until Jaar’s plea for help, there is no hope, feelings feel very distant, and only once those 5 words are uttered can we continue to breathe, musically delivering us where we need to be. No song that I’ve heard since
Radiohead’s “Reckoner” has drawn so much emotion out of me.
The only complaint that can really be filed here is that there isn’t enough, with only 2 fairly similarly structured tracks filling out this release. But its approachability also serves as an advantage, and anyone who hasn’t checked out these two gems should do so. Right now.
