Ardentjohn - On The Wire
From tumultuous beginnings comes peaceful ends.
From tumultuous beginnings comes peaceful ends. Fisticuffs in primary school introduced two members of Ardentjohn to each other. An unexpected reunion in Edinburgh and the band form. None of the tension survives. Instead, the band's debut album is one of mellow folk, guitars, patted drums and prettily sung vocals.
And from that word, 'prettily', the problems here can be surmised. Music need to be more than pretty, more than just some surface of niceness. Some kind of beauty and some kind of alchemy and some kind of excitement – be it lyrics, or whatever – need to draw the listener in. There has to be something else. The problem throughout 'On The Wire' is the general pleasantness of proceedings. It passes by, without providing any moments of real magic. It fades out, into the dull, drizzly, mid-distance.
The brief energy rise on 'One Step Behind' clearly saps their reserves, engaging into a strange fade out 150 seconds in, as if Ardentjohn didn't know how to end something faster than shuffling speed. Being able to play guitar and sing well are not enough. They were never enough.
Only songs like the My Morning Jacket ramble of 'Open Road', the gentle swoon of 'Morning Song' and the yearning of 'Where All Paths Lead' make attempts to latch into some memory. The trouble with 'On The Wire' is the lack of real mood changes, or any real separation in tempo. It means the album fails to generate any 'moments'; it's too pastoral, and derivative of a hundred other bands who've made this kind of music before, better. It leads to Ardentjohn sounding tired on their debut album. Time for a nap.
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