Atavistic Records
2006
The Conduit
About This Album
Coming as it does on the heels of the Men Album -- a mere eight months, which is a brief period for -- The Conduit is a collection of untitled songs that Jarboe collaborates on with Nic LeBan using words written by poet and artist Joshua Fraser on the first eight tracks, and the remaining three cuts written by members of her subscription list. Jarboe has been cutting away everything unnecessary from her music since Anhedoniac. The Conduit speaks to a kind of minimal approach that is not so much stripped down as stripped away. Here the artist gets to her poetic voice, reached through both spoken word and sung vocals, LeBan's guitar -- doing his best David Gilmour very convincingly -- is the bridge between her various keyboards and noise and the sprite that floats throughout these "songs." The Conduit is modern art song, full of the kind of spirit and dark passion that needs no rhythm but that of the human -- and living -- voice. Jarboe's sense of dynamic, drama, and texture create an atmosphere for the listener to be seduced by and fall into. Her organ on the second part recalls everyone from Messiaen to Bach to early Pink Floyd. The droning chords shimmer but they shake, too, as her vocal whispers and then mournfully moans before overlapping itself in a dreamy landscape that is neither ethereal nor safe.
Track List (try tracks 2,3,6,7 and 8)

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