Joan of Arc: "I Saw the Messed Binds of My Generation"

At nearly eleven minutes long—mostly a lengthy instrumental passage balancing Kraut groove with complicated guitar and contrarian breakdowns—“I Saw the Messed Binds of My Generation” is the sound of a long-gestating reunion, namely that of Tim Kinsella with his Cap’n Jazz and Owls bandmate Victor Villarreal. On stage, the song is a palette cleanser, a statement of intent: all future session or studio-related trickery is now the property of a real band, a real group of musicians married to the chance of the live setting, one in total mastery of its noisy, mathematical groove without the crutch of a couple takes.

But on the band’s new record, however, “Messed Binds” falls prey to the same troubles that have plagued other Joan of Arc recordings that attempt to break free from the band’s typical reliance on session players and studio ambiance. The extra musicians, heavy editing, general perfectionism: all of it still helps convey the same atonal intensity and dry wit of their more compact live show. But a search for a middle ground hasn’t always met with success. “Messed Binds,” like much of Life Like, can come across as almost too practiced and cautious on record, missing the breathless anticipation of actually seeing the band execute the song’s virtuosic guitar figures and full stops.

The attempt to bring their live and studio methodologies together is a natural step forward for Joan of Arc. But it would be nice to hear more moments like when the music drops out and Kinsella sings the first words of the album—“You are real / You remain real”—grasping for unsteady, emotional purchase within immaculately produced math rock. “Messed Binds” is so bursting with guitar leads and detours that the studio can’t help but defuse Villarreal’s athletic inspiration and the new, slightly less-polished direction for Joan of Arc they imply. But for such a loud, experimental band, “Messed” is kind of monochromatic, a willing step away from the studio that fails to embrace the contrast between the studio band and the live band as wholeheartedly as they’d want you to believe.