Byla & Jarboe
Viscera is a collaborative effort between solo artist and former Swans memb… Read Full Bio ↴Viscera is a collaborative effort between solo artist and former Swans member Jarboe and Colin Marston/Kevin Hufanagel of ambient/drone outfit Byla.
Noise puts me to sleep. Not in an “I’m bored, I think I’ll take a snooze” kind of sleep, more like an “I’ve been lulled into a bizarre trance that is making me so comfortable” kind of sleep.
It all started with a geology field trip to the northeastern shores of Great Salt Lake located in Utah. The University sprang for one of those nice tour bus style buses with cushy seats, enough legroom for a rhinoceros, and TVs visible from anywhere in the bus. As usual, nothing was playing on the tube, and the conversation was less than exciting, so I decided to listen to Lou Reed’s Metal Machine Music that I had just picked up from the library. I had no idea what this album was all about. I just saw Lou Reed and thought “Oh, neat. Haven’t heard this one.” I pressed play and was at first taken aback by the abrasive soundscape I was confronted with. The sound was piercing, loud, and lacking rhythm and melody. After coming to grips with the fact that this wasn’t a hit follow up to Transformer, I settled in to experience the atmosphere. As I let my mind wrap around the heavily textured soundscape, I became very comfortable and was asleep almost instantly. It wasn’t R.E.M. sleep or anything; it was more like my unconscious decided to take over and shut down my conscious self. I won’t go into the details of my experience, but let’s just say I woke up surprisingly refreshed and ready to learn about alluvial fans.
Byla & Jarboe’s Viscera gave me the same feeling. Voice and distorted guitars drive the sound, yet the sound is wonderfully rich. Byla & Jarboe create a mosaic out of sounds; each sound adding its color to the overall picture that the listener is presented with. The drone evolves slowly, but with purpose, as layers are added, textures removed, and keys changed. As the first song changes, pulling me deeper into a trance, it adds a sense of uneasiness. It evokes emotions that border between sinister and angelic. It is as if I am torn between serenity and torment. Despite this interesting interplay, the song becomes quite hard to listen to. Then the second song starts and changes all that.
The wall of heaviness is not the only element to this album, and the gentler songs enter just soon enough to ease the tension. On an every other basis, a more melodic and gentle interlude is presented to the listener. These counterpoints to the abrasive sounds of the preceding tracks are a welcome respite for the ears and mind. They consist mostly of guitar work that at times reminds me of some of the darker California Guitar Trio songs.
I found the breaks between songs to be too sharp and too abrupt. I felt like it ruined the mood when the intense timbre shut off and opened up to a solo guitar playing simple melodies. I appreciate the counterpoint, but it would have created a more whole, or unified album if all the tracks followed a natural progression into the following track. It would have been nice if the noise made a more gentle transition into the quieter guitar parts and allowed the listener to more easily ebb and flow with the music rather then sprint, stop, and walk.
This album takes a unique and meditative turn from the noise genre and is an interesting listen for those willing to withstand walls of distortion in both guitar and vocals. With the problems aside, this is a well put together album that deserves attention, especially considering this duo is working with Jarboe, who, if you don’t know anything about her, you should look up. Her life and career go way beyond the scope of this review.
Noise puts me to sleep. Not in an “I’m bored, I think I’ll take a snooze” kind of sleep, more like an “I’ve been lulled into a bizarre trance that is making me so comfortable” kind of sleep.
It all started with a geology field trip to the northeastern shores of Great Salt Lake located in Utah. The University sprang for one of those nice tour bus style buses with cushy seats, enough legroom for a rhinoceros, and TVs visible from anywhere in the bus. As usual, nothing was playing on the tube, and the conversation was less than exciting, so I decided to listen to Lou Reed’s Metal Machine Music that I had just picked up from the library. I had no idea what this album was all about. I just saw Lou Reed and thought “Oh, neat. Haven’t heard this one.” I pressed play and was at first taken aback by the abrasive soundscape I was confronted with. The sound was piercing, loud, and lacking rhythm and melody. After coming to grips with the fact that this wasn’t a hit follow up to Transformer, I settled in to experience the atmosphere. As I let my mind wrap around the heavily textured soundscape, I became very comfortable and was asleep almost instantly. It wasn’t R.E.M. sleep or anything; it was more like my unconscious decided to take over and shut down my conscious self. I won’t go into the details of my experience, but let’s just say I woke up surprisingly refreshed and ready to learn about alluvial fans.
Byla & Jarboe’s Viscera gave me the same feeling. Voice and distorted guitars drive the sound, yet the sound is wonderfully rich. Byla & Jarboe create a mosaic out of sounds; each sound adding its color to the overall picture that the listener is presented with. The drone evolves slowly, but with purpose, as layers are added, textures removed, and keys changed. As the first song changes, pulling me deeper into a trance, it adds a sense of uneasiness. It evokes emotions that border between sinister and angelic. It is as if I am torn between serenity and torment. Despite this interesting interplay, the song becomes quite hard to listen to. Then the second song starts and changes all that.
The wall of heaviness is not the only element to this album, and the gentler songs enter just soon enough to ease the tension. On an every other basis, a more melodic and gentle interlude is presented to the listener. These counterpoints to the abrasive sounds of the preceding tracks are a welcome respite for the ears and mind. They consist mostly of guitar work that at times reminds me of some of the darker California Guitar Trio songs.
I found the breaks between songs to be too sharp and too abrupt. I felt like it ruined the mood when the intense timbre shut off and opened up to a solo guitar playing simple melodies. I appreciate the counterpoint, but it would have created a more whole, or unified album if all the tracks followed a natural progression into the following track. It would have been nice if the noise made a more gentle transition into the quieter guitar parts and allowed the listener to more easily ebb and flow with the music rather then sprint, stop, and walk.
This album takes a unique and meditative turn from the noise genre and is an interesting listen for those willing to withstand walls of distortion in both guitar and vocals. With the problems aside, this is a well put together album that deserves attention, especially considering this duo is working with Jarboe, who, if you don’t know anything about her, you should look up. Her life and career go way beyond the scope of this review.
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We have lyrics for these tracks by Byla:
Sent M'r nennt mich nur d'r brunge Jupp Verkehre he em…
We have lyrics for these tracks by Jarboe:
01. Lavender Girl There's patchouli, spanish blossom, frankincense, and rose …
02 Ode To V Obey the strange-haired woman with sad singing lips The chi…
10 Tragic Seed When you touch yourself again through me Love is the roamin…
A Man of Hate Take pity please Lord Misery How shiny your throne as you…
A woman's dreams held myself... i fall out of myself. let it go. a memory of…
Act III As your hands tightened around your throat I knew that this…
Angel David I prayed on bended knees through tears And an angel was…
Anhedoniac My hair is tangled on the tree It floats and twists…
Blackmail Close your eyes Close your eyes Saw the word I want to hear …
Blood and Honey I found you lying where I drowned you I found you…
Blood Promise When silence falls And light remains And time is born Ben…
Bound Drug-free Smoke-free Booze-free Love-bound Debt-free Diseas…
Burnt I'll burn... { BURNT }…
Circles in Red Dirt Now Michel was a man He rode his horse high A knife…
Cries You Can Hear Them Out There They're Gonna Follow You Down …
Deflowered If you wanna be the star Just get the big guitar A…
Empty Mouth I am She whom the winds fear I am She who…
Fate Trance Hold me Hold me Your heartbeat is my heart You look at…
Feral I am wild in mourning In a freezing cell In a hollow…
Forever The malignancy grows with fibrous insistence As the body wa…
Found I'm running I'm empty I'm consumed You're there You're in me…
Freedom Freedom, my freedom Freedom, get off my back Freedom, freedo…
God Goddess Goooooooooooooooooooooood Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeess Go…
Gun I got a gun I got a gun I got a house You…
Holy Money Move around Holy money, holy holy Shake it, shake it …
Honey You can't kiss me You can't lick me You can't kick me You…
Hypo Girl Can I steal your mind? And can I crawl down inside? And…
I I got a gun I got a gun I got a house You…
I Crawled You're My Father I Obey You I Want You To Be My…
I Got a Gun I got a gun I got a gun I got a house You…
i put a spell on you I put a spell on you because you're mine You better…
I'm a Killer How'm i supposed to do that I never be able to…
Illusory And I see true Illusory you Do I see true Authenticity in yo…
In an Open Sea The bridge is long and narrow The hills are burned by…
In My Garden In my garden Things grow in my garden Things will grow Th…
Kiss of Life We are gathered tonight to say goodbye to a life Cherish…
Lavender Girl There's patchouli, spanish blossom, frankincense, and rose …
Listen Death-like in her pallor Silver spiders in the parlor gliste…
Miracle of Love She holds a key to the room down there And I,…
Mississippi Saw all them colors in the black room. Heard all 'em…
Mother Father Mother/Father Hey hey, Now mother father Hey hey Now my bloo…
My Buried Child My Frozen Empty Violent Mind Caressed The Hidden Hair That S…
Not Logical Open your mind Sensational, metaphysical, insatiable, astro…
Not Noah's Ark Every species of the earth squeezed together alive and writh…
Ode To V Obey the strange-haired woman with sad singing lips The chi…
Of Ancient Memory As far as the eye can see heat is rising…
Penance Lay your head upon my breast Hear the heart I surrender to…
Please Remember Me You penetrate my eyes And you steal my memory And each sen…
Rage And the red against black is the fulfillment of a…
Reason to live Out of love, there's nobody around, all I hear is…
Red red is the color, there's no other, red velvet tap…
Sacred Disciple Wannabe You're burnin' me - you're burnin' me You're a sacred disci…
Saved Now I’ve got nothing to look at I’ve got no…
Shimmer Come morocco night The sand is as white As the…
Shotgun Road Here is the bleeding heart Remember she once declared Now sh…
Sinner And what do I do With the gift you present to…
Spiral Staircase The wind blows after dark And then goes my heart I never…
St. John John, deliver me Dear John, release in me Oh John, when I…
Still A Child The day I was born, your shadow fell across my…
Subtraction Do you know who you belong with Do you know who…
Surgical Saviour I open you I make you feel Through me you know Desires are…
The Believers the believers dance in front the altar the believers strip …
The Body Lover At last it's coming up, the sun The body snatcher's…
The Cage ...I want to fuck your soul...…
The Child's Right Save the cold water falling Across this child’s legs His…
The Lonely Voyeur Deceptive eyes azure And black as his heart, they do lie…
The Never Deserting Shadow Give me your promise baby tell me true Give me your…
This is life I won¹t go there. The risk is too great. I owe myself…
To Forget I'm with you to forget my loneliness I love you to…
Tragic Seed When you touch yourself again through me Love is the roaming…
Transmogrification In the interim of temporary defeat... I am not in flame…
Troll After I bed with thee Your soul shall no longer be Deep…
Troll Lullaby Don't let the troll into your bed He'll take your soul…
Under Will "I'm looking forward to your being my wife." "It's actually…
Universal Emptiness And she sits there by the wall Making holes where…
unreal When the cool light flows through 10 million minds Our exper…
Volcano Your lipstick smear across your face, Now toss your hair in…
We Are the Prophecy I am talking to you And you know that Everything I have I…
Wooden Idols She could tell you right now She could hold you near She…
You I put a spell on you because you're mine You better…
Yum Yab I saw a white finger on a barbed wire fence. I…