Your Continuity Unravels

Joan of Arc “Explain Yourselves #2”

Joan of Arc have written songs with groovy beats in the past, but “Explain Yourselves #2” is different — there are no odd tangents, and a minimum of intentional awkwardness and tension. There’s a stillness and peace at the core of this song that makes me imagine a cool, clean, air-conditioned place to rest while the rhythm grinds mechanically outside. Tim Kinsella can’t keep himself from sounding anxious, but even that gets toned down a bit in this track, in favor of conveying broader sense of yearning for safety and stability. All together it sounds like a realization: The world around him cannot be ignored, but somehow recedes into the background as he focuses his mind on what he wants and what he needs.

Buy it from Polyvinyl Records.