Track listing: ay yarasası, anahtar kireç pasta, zımpara kağıdı, parlak tabut açgözlülüğümü boyuyor, aracınızın uzatılmış garantisi, garlic catharsis, six minute track, erkek kedi
Denver-based jorm and the marvelous raindrops mix-and-match, moose-and-squirrel their music such that a delightful, optimistic soundtrack creates a sonic backdrop for Eeyore-levels of spoken lyrical doom and gloom. Juxtaposition much?! Yes, jorm does.
jorm lives in a world where oxymorons such as "endearing disorientation" and "lighthearted, nihilisitic fatalism" are a daily occurrence
Their latest effort bıçak gecesi (roughly translated from Turkish meaning "knife night") provides food for thought. Points to ponder. Poignant nuggets of wisdom and random thoughts.
The hope within this record is "to bring a little lightness to a dark world thru a mix of incredibly grim lyricism and surprisingly cheerful noises." Did jorm make that happen for you?! Are you inspired? Confused? Angered? Check them out on Bandcamp at jorm1.bandcamp.com and let 'em know.
It's an odd listen, to be honest. Yes it's music, but it's also essentially a spoken word album. Like an epic poem set to a soundtrack. Rather than putting bıçak gecesi on and letting it play, it's best to set aside some time to truly listen. A statement is being made here. Literally. Many statements, more accurately. One needs to hear them, absorb the words, apply those words and finally process what reaction bıçak gecesi is going to ultimately have on your day and your entire ethereal being.
It was fun to try and assign a genre to jorm and bıçak gecesi. The artist bio mentions Indie Folk and Synth-Pop "but the divergences are many, and varied, and often go quite deep, from thrash metal, to spoken word, to space ambient." The originality led me to "Indie" despite the sound not being what you envision an Indie band spewing out. But the vibe itself is indeed very Indie. Also Electronic. There aren't acoustic instruments being played, so "Electronic" is a good cop-out in the quest to determine this genre. But it's not like it's a House/Dance record, either.
So listen. Judge for yourself. Consider what jorm has to say and then decide how that's going to affect you moving forward. It's pretty deep when you think about it--much more challenging than tossing The Tortured Poets Department on and listening to Ms. Swift explore her crushes and breakups. Take jorm for a ride. Kick the tires. See if you're endearingly disoriented or if you become Nihilistically fatalistic.