Life Like (2011)

At some point, the surname Kinsella became synonymous with guitarwork and yelpy vocals, which is only partly true. Joan Of Arc records feature everything from densely-layered electronic compositions to 20-minute-long instrumental guitar pieces. For all intents and purposes, Joan Of Arc is the main “Kinsella band,” but often sounds least like the many groups who cite the band and its offshoots as influences.

Over the last 10 years, Tim Kinsella, his friends, and their countless musical projects have risen to prominence amongst a small but prolific sect of DIY indie/punk bands. Groups like Snowing, Algernon Cadwallader, and Coping fuse the chaotic, noodly sounds of Cap’n Jazz and Owls, two of the most popular bands falling under the JoA umbrella, with basement show-ready singalong vocals to great ends.

Until 2010’s Cap’n Jazz reunion, Tim Kinsella seemed to have gone about his business more or less without considering his growing cred amongst this new generation of underground bands. He occasionally hit the mark—Make Believe flirted with the emo-punk sound of his early days as a songwriter and released some of the best records from his massive discography, but ultimately flamed out after a few years. Life Like is perhaps the most directly Kinsella has acknowledged his previous bands’ influence. It’s as if the band set out to record a “Kinsella” album, crafting nine songs that best encapsulate what fans love about this family of musicians.

Written after the hugely successful Cap’n Jazz tour, Life Like is the sound of Joan Of Arc taking on the guise of a straightforward rock band. Beyond the meandering opening track, “I Saw The Messed Binds Of My Generation,” the record is surprisingly tight, clocking in at just over 40 minutes. Life Like is a document of the most recent iteration of Joan Of Arc’s touring lineup, as recorded by Steve Albini, whose clean production allows the band’s hypermusicality to shine.

Life Like is the first time Kinsella has collaborated with Victor Villarreal on record since the much-loved one-album-wonder group Owls. Villarreal is known for his knotty, frenetic guitar work, which holds the record together as a cohesive piece of well-crafted experimental rock. The frenzied guitar leads in “Howdy Pardoner,” and the unhinged solo that closes out the record on “After Life” combined with Kinsella’s manic vocals and twisted, hallucinatory lyrics throughout elevate the record to a level of consistent quality rarely achieved in the notoriously spotty Joan Of Arc catalog.