Review: Jordaan Mason - the decline of stupid fucking western civilization
By Jordan Matthiass, Contributor
[Oh! Map; 2015]
Rating: 6.5/10
Key Tracks: “eulogy,” “liturgy part two,” “evidence”
Jordaan Mason has long been a subject of intense divisiveness among freak folk fans. The 2009 masterpiece divorce lawyers i shaved my head was the introduction for many to this troubled genius’ unique brand of esoteric, labyrinthine metaphor and orchestral virtuosity, but it also garnered much disdain.
Here we are with an album seemingly designed to settle this controversy via the stripping of all “folk.” the decline of stupid fucking western civilization is, like divorce lawyers, a full-band contribution, unlike most of Mason’s unexpectedly large body of work. Whereas divorce lawyers utilized its primal collective spirit to the utmost, bringing in upward of 12 musicians at a time--not one playing anything needing to be plugged in--the decline features a nameless band called in to jam--yes, jam--on electric instruments, seemingly at odds with the artist’s modus operandi.
Releasing an album not in Mason’s typical solo style isn’t necessarily a bad thing. We know from divorce lawyers that they can add a full band, The Horse Museum, that meshes amazingly well, so why exactly did Mason opt for this boring band without a name? We may never know.
Along with instrumentation being stripped to boring convention, our bandleader’s near-incoherent, wildly imaginative writing has also taken a hit. Mason’s appeal was always in the emblematic words they used to relate gender dysphoria and sexual confusion, but here we’re left with thoughts that don’t widen your eyes quite like divorce lawyer’s lines about fucking like a racehorse or pulling telephones from the heads of whalekillers in wastelands. Mason’s Joycean trademark has, very sadly, been all but extinguished.
Unsurprisingly, the best cuts from the decline of stupid fucking western civilization are those that eschew this new simplicity.
Track four, “liturgy part two,” an apparent continuation of an earlier favorite from 2007’s mantra songs, is the first song on the album to see Mason’s writing and vocals return to their woeful state found on the classics. Slow and dire, the listener is treated to a (thankfully) hushed band arrangement that progresses through the poem with glacial urgency. We’re finally given a real chance to take in Mason’s genius lines about memorizing dictionaries to find the right diction and mattresses glistening with blood and sugar.
“eulogy,” following later, finally sees Mason’s new band gelling well with the singer. The heretofore maddening guitar no longer meanders, playing real chords as our narrator sings with true determination, confidence brimming as The Horse Museum II ramps up to an intense, head-banging crescendo, something Jordaan Mason fans would never have expected. I was blown away while listening, not thinking Mason could ever pull off something of such magnitude.
Finally, there is “evidence.” The lead single from western civilization, “evidence” is another piece that makes surprisingly good use of the new band. Their repellant tendency toward sounding like a jam band has left for good by this point, clearing the way for a collaboration one can tell had everyone “feeling it.” Groovy. Also the longest song on the album, “evidence” gives us, again, enough time to intake and process the true weirdness of lines about being filled by lovers’ blood and making fire from bones.
the decline of stupid fucking western civilization may be a slight disappointment to those who have loved Jordaan Mason’s unique style for years, but the loss of such thick esoterica definitely makes this release an indispensable starting point for any prospective fans.
