“Fuck my soul when I burn it all.”
I can imagine Shining playing in
large venues and the crowd moving and jumping up and down with them; shouting
the simple and repetitive chants-lyrics through the voice of Jorgen Munkeby, where the narrator
speaks in first person about him/herself and/or against everyone else. “My god,
I don’t know what is going on. I cannot take this shit anymore, but I still
need more.”… Because everyone at some point, just can’t take it anymore.
The intensity and the energy that
‘International
Blackjazz Society’ expresses can be overwhelming and at the end of it,
the listener may feel more relaxed and at peace. See it as a way to express
anxiety, worries, uncertainty, anger, self-loathing and a wide range of
destructive emotions, if kept on the inside and ultimately, have fun with it.
Shining begun exploring and creating their own sound a few years
ago, when they released “Blackjazz” and now, two albums
later, this musical vision is more realized, methodic and disciplined. They are
more precise and they create songs that can take the listener to a wild ride. The
music is dense, cohesive and filled with industrial energy, creating a thick
moving wall, or maybe a massive body of water moving fast towards us, making
great and fear inspiring noise, shouting at everyone and no one at the same
time. The saxophone doesn’t play a dominant role and it feels more like a
parallel narration to this intense storyline that is expressed while I, the
listener, am experiencing the album.
This is the dream of a man about
to lose his shit. Stuck in a traffic jam; hands on the stirring wheel; fingers
tight around it; the mind swirling in anxiety; debts; bills; unemployment;
problems at home; fighting; blaming each other; fuck my wife/husband; fuck the
future; fuck society; fuck the banks and fuck it all. Jumping out of the car
and running like a maniac. The man doesn’t know it yet, but it is total
meltdown. “I knew what I was living for, but know I am not sure.” And when it
is fully realized and the body exhausted, he is falling on his knees and
crying, not out of weakness but of despair. The dream is broken. The dream is
dead. “Now I know it’s all a lie. Choose the poison. Choose the lie. I sold all
the things I love for a place in this empty house of control.”
The listener can sense the sensitivity
and the subtlety of emotions. It is not just anger and denial. There is
vulnerability, there is intensity, there is uncertainty channeled through this
dark, thick, industrial entity called “International Blackjazz Society”;
and most of all, it’s fun. You can move with it, dance with it, play along with
it and at the end of it feel like you had an awesome time. Every song has a
circular riff that moves around and welcomes you to dance with it; the drums
have a warm and live sound, making it feel more rock and less industrial; not
distant and cold, like metal on metal, but closer to you; lead guitars, keys,
saxophone and voice are all moving on top of the basic riff-drums-bass
structure and this is what makes it feel so alive and intense; along with the
lyrics, you have the visions of a man that is having a meltdown and somehow
enjoys it. And so do I.
Not long ago, Shining gave a live performance on a
rock in Norway, Trolltunga, and from what I’ve seen they do love playing live
and recording on location (like this ONE).
Maybe next time they’ll play on Mars; or the moon, because, well, it’s closer. Count
me a member of the International Blakcjazz Society. I just hope it doesn’t turn
into a religious cult.
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