Magick Fire Music ‘ Wow LPs [Double Disc]

JOMFTouch and Go

Recommended if…

Magick Fire Music ‘ Wow LPs [Double Disc]

JOMFTouch and Go

Recommended if you like: Godspeed You Black Emperor!

When I first read this band’s name, I wasn’t sure what to expect. Actually, I didn’t even have any press on it. I thought, “Is this band hip-hop? Nu-metal? What could it be?” JOMF ended up not being any of these. The last thing I expected was a band reminiscent of Godspeed You Black Emperor! But that’s what it was. In fact, JOMF even toured with them.

The album features guitars, vocals, turntables, reeds and more. In a live setting, the band uses video as well, which is “played” by one of the instrumentalists. As I sat down to let the double album Magick Fire Music ‘ Wow LPs fully soak in, I was not at all prepared for the journey.

JOMF is a little bit more accessible than Godspeed at times, with some melodies that develop quickly. Most Godspeed songs involve long expositions, where you might be waiting up until the eighth minute of a song to get the main riff going. JOMF has long songs, but the melodies don’t try to stay hidden from you at the start. This can be a good or bad thing, depending on your mood.

While I’m used to acts that make long songs, such as Godspeed, A Silver Mt. Zion, Fly Pan Am, Set Fire to Flames, Sigur Ros, I was listening to the songs, waiting for intensity to build up. Halfway through disc one of JOMF’s release, I was noticed that the band used saxophones and what sounded like field recordings in order to make the music get weird.

JOMF would be so much better if they allowed songs to develop instead of just blowing their wad in the first few minutes and then just going to the weird to close out songs. If they would spend some time really getting that intense buildup, and then going weird on top of it, this would be one hell of a band.

There were a few songs that did this well, though, such as “Jugband 2000” and “Quaker” on disc one, and “Black Squirrels” and “Wow” on disc two. Actually, to tell you the truth, the two discs are like Jekyll and Hyde. CD No. 1 spends more time on the weird across seven tracks, whereas the second excursion is only three tracks. The latter disc allows the band to further develop the material, which makes it so much better and easier to consume. However, you’re looking at the first two tracks clocking in at a massive 33 minutes combined, while the last track clocks in just past the 17 mark.

The reason for this disparity is that the double disc is a reissue of two out-of-production vinyls that were manufactured one year apart. This can explain the odd transformation, but if I had to rank these two discs in order of preference, I’d give disc two a spin first. It will probably prove to be a more enjoyable experience, with disc one being a good follow-up.