Me and My Friends #42 - This is the Show
It's easy to forget that in all the excitement over Unlimited Love, there's two new releases out this month by former members of the Chili Peppers. One of these is Jack Irons's Koi Fish in Space, which came out a few weeks ago and sounds essentially like the album title. It's somehow groovy yet punishing at the same time, and very unique sounding. The instrumentation (or, I should say, lack thereof) is quite interesting. I'm not sure, but it almost sounds like a trigger reacting to the rhythm; a sort of bass and synth that's not following the drums but is created by it, swirling around in circles.
But don't take my word for it, it's out now here and on streaming services. The man is a beast.
The other release is Pluralone's This is the Show. I was lucky enough to be gifted a pre-release stream by ORG Records and thought I'd share my thoughts about it. It can be pre-ordered here.
First of all, I love this cover, especially the fancy woman on the far right, and the fact it takes you a moment to realise that a few of the faces are looking right at you...
This is the third (!) album Josh has released since November 2019, which goes to show how prolific he really is when not tied down by the machinations of a major label and 3 other members in a democracy (I guess the fact that he was stuck at home for long periods of time helped as well).
You'd think that someone releasing so much music - don't forget the B-sides! - in such a relatively short period wouldn't have much new ground to cover. I've always been frustrated by an artist that just releases the same album over and over again, drawing from the same well the whole time. After a while you can't tell any of it apart.
This is not the case here. You can release an album every six years (like some bands...) or keep your chops up and keep busy. Sometimes a well stays full of water. It's an exciting thing for a creative person, and for the people the reap the benefits of that creativity, and Josh is clearly coming into his own as a solo artist with this release.
When I first heard it, To Be One With You felt like Josh was the lead singer of a "real" band called Pluralone. It was relatively guitar and drum heavy, had a "live" sound, and as we now know, featured a few songs previously earmarked for the Chili Peppers.
I Don't Feel Well came along a year later and it seemed as if Josh was reacting to the events of December 2019. It was almost as if he was taking a step away from the guitar and embracing the piano more. Here's what I said about it when it was first released:
Another key aspect is the – to me – very heavy role the piano seems to have taken in his writing process this time around. The guitar feels less present in this collection of songs than in any Klinghoffer project so far. Every song sounds like it was started and fleshed out on the piano we see in all of his recent “live” performances; there’s a sense that the piano / drum / bass permeates it all, as opposed to the piano being something to flesh out what the guitar had started.
And maybe that makes sense, if we consider what’s happened over the past year. Has Josh dealt with his removal from the guitar playing position in the Chili Peppers by seeking out a different instrument entirely? Or is this just a coincidence, something that would have happened anyway? I suppose only Josh knows that, if he’s thought about it at all. But it’s exciting to see where he might take it in the future - on the next Pluralone (or Dot Hacker?) album.
Could the man who wrote the opening riff to “The Longest Wave” slip further and further away from that instrument?
Now This is the Show is here and that movement away from the guitar seems to have come full circle. I'm probably wrong here but I'm not 100% there's even electric guitar on the album. This is a synth heavy release, especially on the tracks "The Fight for the Soul" and "Any More Alone," which use these thick, snake-like lines as leads. It's also a drum-machine heavy album. Live drums are present (as are guitars, of course -- "Offend" almost sounds like a Humbug-era Arctic Monkeys song, based around a 12 string); thundering rhythm by Eric Gardner is basically the first thing you hear on the album, but a large amount of the songs are driven by machines.
The sound of TITS - uh, I mean, This is the Show - is a logical progression, really, and in this sense it's wonderful that he's released so much music in such a short span of time. Not just because it's nice to have, but because we're getting an insight into Josh's mind over more and more reference points. Instead of going from A to Z over the course of a few years, we're getting to hear B, C, D and so on. This is a massive oversimplification, but the three albums are like three steps on a journey towards a different sound. To Be One With You started in one place, I Don't Feel Well was the middle point, and This is the Show is part 3. I'm hoping there's much much more to come, but if the Pluralone project finishes up with these three albums, it would be a perfect trilogy of releases. A story in a way, with a beginning, a middle, and an end.
Josh sounds as wonderful as ever, though as usual it took two or three passes for me to realise what he was actually saying on most songs. Not to sound like a broken record, but even his voice sounds like a synth on this. He has a magic technique; his voice comes through untouched, but then he modulates it inside his own mouth, changing "presets" almost. It's an instrument of its own.
Lyrically, Josh - are you okay buddy? He's always had a darker side, that seemed harder to see behind his shy persona, but here there are some moments of real torment - "My heart hurts" - "You don't care about me" - "I can't believe these fuckin' assholes have their say" - "Trying to be more alone, left alone embarrassed..."
Some other highlights: "Elongate", which I think will be a fan favourite. It's part Bjork "Secret Place", part Kid-A era Radiohead, with an expansive sing-along chorus. I can't even begin to explain this but for some reason the Tarzan soundtrack popped into my head when I heard the chorus for the first time. I may be going insane, but maybe there's some connection there. I think it should have been the first single.
"Scape" has wonderful, staccato vocals (almost rap!) over a three-note descending piano riff and "Skinny Sweaty Man" drums, and the album closes with two wonderful ballads. "Life Kills" in particular is gorgeous, with the sound of a candle burning (I think?) running throughout, and a choir of Josh in the background.
We grow more comfortable as artists, and sometimes that leads to stagnancy, but Josh only seems to be growing more confident in his comfort. He seems to be hiding less and sharing more, and his output is only getting more and more interesting as the years go on. I can't wait to hear where his head is at next year.
This is the Show is out on March 17.
Through the Moment service, Josh is hosting a live stream broadcast on March 17, which is part album release party and part live show. I've not seen this site before, but I love the potential. Looks like an exciting night.