Joan of Arc – Life Like

In the fifteenth century the French stacked up some logs and set fire to the heroine that would come to be known as Joan as Arc. Hundreds of years later it's hard not to wish the same fate on the saint's Chicago based namesakes, metaphorically speaking of course. There is something very hard to warm to about the band's 15th long player. Not that the record tries very hard to be liked in the first place.

Starting with a messy jam session of an instrumental which may keep left-field, beard strokers, noise pioneers, post-rock die-hards and jazz fans contented but leaves those of us who appreciate a tune feeling truly bereft. Again, like Joan of Arc care, but there it is. This is not a record for those unable or unwilling to spend a bit of time trying to get their heads around the arsing about/genius musical experimentation.

Tim Kinsella's yowl is engaging enough at first, but the wandering off-key, which sounds suspiciously deliberate, begins to grate very, very soon. Life Like may be laudable do a degree by dint of avoiding the usual trappings of more popular rock, but that doesn’t mean it’s actually much fun to listen to. Joan of Arc, then, unlikely to be beatified by the masses any time soon. [PJ Meiklem]