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Jackie-O Motherfucker - Bloom (Textile, 2018)

Not sure what prompted me to check in on JOMF, I haven't heard anything from them since 2005/06 with Candyland, America Mystica, Flags of the Sacred Harp, etc. They always struck me as kind of an inbetween band. They've got the post-rock Americana thing going on like Spiritualized (but without the great songs), they've got the improv/collective thing going on like No-Neck, Sunburned, Vibracathedral (but not quite as freaked). Fig. 5 was a formative record for me but beyond that they've been in a lot of limbo. Maybe this is a vein they've been mining recently and I missed out but Bloom has some out-and-out Songs. "The Strike" is one of the most invigorating tunes I've heard from them. "The Pipe" is a drone-y intro track (the band rehearsed in an area surrounded by steel pipes hence the reference) but from there things get fairly straightforward. There's only 6 tracks here and the longest is 8:37 so they've definitely reined it in somewhat, it was an intriguing album but I still prefer the freakier stuff.

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