Januar

The music on Januar's latest can be hazy, indistinct, and difficult to pin down — and that's generally a good thing. Rather than present their material in straightforward ways, the performers create a series of aural moods in which mystery and merit are joined at the hip. The Januar lineup...

By Michael Roberts

November 2, 2006

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The music on Januar's latest can be hazy, indistinct, and difficult to pin down — and that's generally a good thing. Rather than present their material in straightforward ways, the performers create a series of aural moods in which mystery and merit are joined at the hip. The Januar lineup is down by a quarter; the only sign of former drummer Katie Aikins is a thank-you on the new disc's sleeve. However, Amy and Jeremy Burbick (who play guitar and sing) and drummer/vocalist Patty Holland compensate for Aikins' absence via production that ladles atmosphere onto the likes of "Undertow" (the song's harmonies are enhanced by a canyon's worth of echo). Tunes like "C Chord" are too rudimentary to take advantage of such dial-twisting, but "Schism" and "Go With What Ya Know" are marked by darkness and complexity that blossom in the studio.

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