Jane - Berserker

Very subtle and genuine and a little dusty in its corners

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The Milk Factory says this here stuff: Formed of Animal Collective vocalist and guitarist Noah Lenox, AKA Panda Bear, and Queens’ mastermind and 14K member Scott Mou, Jane is a collaborative project that sits on the edge of the pair’s respective work. With Animal Collective and through his solo work, Lennox has developed a truly unique sound built around incantatory songs and acoustic drone structures. Mou on the other hand, usually works within an electro-acoustic setting to get to similar results. Left free to rampage through the remote boundaries of a scene which has spawned the likes of Animal Collective and Black Dice, the pair create in just four tracks a strange and fascinating world, which relies very little on either of the musicians’ usual experimental playground.


The pair met a few years back in New York while working in a record store. Brought together by an interest in dance music of all kind, Mou and Lennox started improvising and rehearsing, finding comfort in Mou’s own house and studio. Yet, dance music is very seldom referenced here as the pair focus on vast soundscapes, drones and glitches to establish the blueprint for their music.


The album opens with the title track, which very much evolves within Animal Collective territory. A looped guitar strum circles around Panda Bear’s familiar voice, the lot lost in a cloud of vast reverbs. As the melody progresses, the fragile nature of this song sets the tone for a rather unusual and challenging collaboration. Yet, this first track doesn’t actually give a relevant picture of what this album has to offer. As Agg Report slides in, the scope changes totally to focus on a simple melody draped in discreet piano and electronics far more representative of things to come. As a relentless beat sets the track in motion, Lennox and Mou slowly develop drone-like layers of sounds and voices and apply echoes and effects on them to create something at times reminiscent of the stripped down electronic-infused indie of Seefeel.


Although developing in different directions, the third and epic (twenty-five minutes) fourth tracks bear much resemblance to Agg Report, exploring similar ambiences and textures. As the music slowly evolve from drone-form to richer, more opened, soundscapes, Panda Bear’s unmistakable voice, at times left pretty much in its natural state, at others heavily treated, carves incisive grooves right at the heart of each track. Swan especially shows an interesting use of his voice. Processed and totally integrated, it becomes part of the sonic make-up of this record, bringing something totally ethereal and surreal to the drones developed by Mou. Here, the pair appear the most at ease, free to explore fully the scope of their collaboration and take it as far as possible.


Berserker is an unusual and challenging record, which at time appears to hesitate between a number of possible identities. Far from weakening its structure or putting at risk its balance, this actually contributes to this album sounding incredibly dense, yet totally accessible. As composed and assured as Lennox and Mou are here, Berserker is terribly fragile and is touching because of that.


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