Desperate Journalist - In Search of the Miraculous
London’s indiegoth, dreampop outfit Desperate Journalist recently dropped their third album, entitled In Search of the Miraculous.
Desperate Journalist | Photo: Josh Thornton
The title of the album carries heavy artistic significance, referring to the journey of conceptual artist Bas Jan Ader, who set forth in July of 1975 on the Ocean Wave, a small boat. His destination was Falmouth, England, from whence he would travel to the Netherlands, where an exhibition of his art was to occur. During the journey, Ader was searching for the miraculous. He never made it.
In April 1976, a Spanish fishing trawler came across the Ocean Wave, half sunk, just off Ireland. The crew of the trawler discovered Ader’s passport and driver’s license. Ader’s body was never found.
Prior to Ader’s ill-fated voyage, a book entitled In Search of the Miraculous: Fragments of an Unknown teaching was published by the students of Russian philosopher P.D. Ouspensky. Written by Ouspensky, the book is about his friendship with George Gurdjieff, the mystical philosopher who maintained that most people go through life in a kind of “waking sleep.”
According to Jo Bevan, Desperate Journalist’s vocalist, the band’s album was inspired by Bas Jan Ader and his quest for the marvelous. The high concept of the album is a pursuit of love and hope, a philosophical/musical expedition for the quixotic.
Encompassing 10-tracks, from a purely subjective viewpoint, the best tracks include “International Waters,” with its cutting leitmotif guitar riff slicing through the harmonics.
It’s a grand album of wonderful music, full of lush guitars, magical sonic surfaces, and gleaming textures, along with the yummy voice of Bevan, who along with the rest of the band – Simon Drowner (bass), Rob Hardy (guitar), and Caz Hellbent (drums) – integrates sound and pressure into a polished sonic panorama.
Encompassing 10-tracks, from a purely subjective viewpoint, the best tracks include “International Waters,” with its cutting leitmotif guitar riff slicing through the harmonics. Then there’s the portentous mood and feel of the glossy “Girl of the Houses.”
My two favorites are “Cedars” and “Satellite.” The former opens on creamy jangly guitars flowing into a smooth pop-flavored alt-rock melody graced by the scrumptious tones of Bevan. The chorus delivers a shimmering wall of sound traveling on sparkling guitars.
“Satellite” rides suffused sheens of glittering guitars and a skintight rhythm. The spiraling timbres of Bevan’s voice, intermingling with the burnished guitars, deliver a luscious aura, like honey laced with sugary mint flavors.
Desperate Journalist reminds me of The Cranberries, only with more oomph and iridescent energy, superbly wrought.
