Send "Nadja " Ringtones to your Cell 
| Pitchfork |
 Under the Jaguar Sun is long and difficult to listen to. In most cases, this would be a negative thing. But as the latest in a long line of releases from the absurdly prolific Aidan Baker-- who along with Leah Buckareff records as Nadja as well as solo under his own name with like-minded collaborators-- it's another incredibly small step forward for a guy that makes music that has never really been about forward movement.The first half of this two-disc set (they are timed so that they could also be listened to simultaneously) finds Baker in standard Nadja territory. Guitar tones stretch out for minutes on end, blanketing songs in endless elastic loops of feedback before drums thundercrack their way in with appealingly human sloppiness. There's no good entry point except the beginning and no real escape until it ends. But Baker has made a home in this sound, carving pleasurable moments out of the sometimes arduous drone music listening experience. In less talented hands, this could come off as a slapdash reach for doom-and-gloom experimentalism, but Baker manages to pull enough reference points that he's able to sit comfortably in the crossroads of weirdo jams-- somewhere between post-rock's languid build and release and doom metal's intensely loud textured hum. It may sound contradictory, but Baker is making overwhelming background music. It's so intrusive that it's nearly impossible to focus entirely on, but it manages to make everything in your natural surroundings ultra-serious and heavy. The second disc, when heard on its own, is where Baker's lofty emotional goals betray him. The expansive landscapes of heavy guitar are mostly toned down in favor of structured feedback and quivering strings. Good elements when they're played against the emotional swell of the tracks on the first disc, but taken separately-- especially after listening to an entire disc's worth of this stuff-- it's too much. This second half feels like Baker is treading water. With so many releases per year, he seems more preoccupied with documenting the process of making glacially slow music than actually pushing his work into new territory. Here, he would benefit from leaving some of this on the cutting room floor in favor of a more definitive document....full text |
| Theomegaorder |
| NADJA - Under The Jaguar Sun (2CD Box) That's right kids! Yes you can mix your own NADJA album! The second disc in this set “Quetzalcoatl” diffuses into the air an alien vocabulary of electronicesque gargles and hums. Disc one of the set, “Tezcatlipoca” is the actual collapsing of stars. Or, perhaps the exploding majesty of every day’s new sun being reborn, as it once again defeats those Xibilba’s and rises to arc through its dominion again. Which brings us to part 3 of this double-CD set. Both CDs have been composed to also be played simultaneously, in a much more useable fashion than the Zaireekas of the world—an epic length doom metal anthem of sweating proportions. Beautiful fold-out package....full text |
| Wordpress |
| think this is the sixth time I wrote for this band only this year (2009). And this is the 8th or the 9th release of them for 2009. What else to say, collaborations, compilations, live, old covers, full length albums, 12”inch, EP, remixes and singles. Here are all the other 2009 nadja posts of this blog: http://noiz.wordpress.com/2009/09/21/nadja-belles-betes-2009/ plus the last one with black boned angel http://noiz.wordpress.com/2009/09/29/nadja-black-boned-angel-nadja-black-boned-angel-2009/ . This album is actually the official 2009 full length release of Baker. All the previous ones are covers, or compilations or live releases, so I think we have to pay attention to this one. This is a double disc release. Darkness and wind… There are cello, violin, harmonium, sitar and piano inside the compositions in this release. This is the greatest of all. This is the modern noise metal. Drone till death. Satanic vibes, fantastic terror atmosphere and voices around my brain. Their music is screaming in my head. I think this is one of the best ever nadja releases. This is progressive music. Oh my Lord, this is a masterpiece. I think this is the best ever ambient – drone metal release. I just love it from the first hearing. Excellent. A disc full of metal and drone doom strings and the second one trully experimental and ethereal ambient....full text |
Nadja lyrics
|
| ||||||||||
