CityLife

Jackie O MutherF****R

THERE'S a communal aspect to JOMF, where everyone contributes towards the final product.

Tonight they feed off the audience’s energy as they negotiate and improvise their way through an unusually short set.

Opening with a slow folk melodies the sound laconically builds to a brief climax before collapsing into silence – it’s clear that tonight the band have decided upon disparate freeform styles, each member absorbing themselves in their own melodic pursuits.

This abrupt end perhaps signifies how this group of 15 years are still willing to challenge themselves.

As their quest to find a communal consciousness continues the band eventually find form in a winding psychedelic riff.

The lap steel of newbie Geoffrey Trelstadt departs from the adept rhythms of founding member Tom Greenwood and drives the band into Space Rock territories.

Projected

Feeding of crowd energy can be both help and hindered; tonight, audience members slouch in the upholstery watching silent movies projected along the back wall.

This laid back atmosphere is reflected in the sound.

As the set enters its final stage the band arrange for one last blow out. “This isn’t going to be the longest song ever played, but it’s going to be good,” announces Greenwood.

For some this may come as a blessing (JOMF have been known to play hour-long songs) but as the set has progressed the sound has become increasingly cohesive and the promise of an extended track is salivating.

What started as wild improvisation has evolved into a chorus of dissonance.

All the qualities of the group can be heard as the players dance through rock, free jazz and roots music.

In all the confusion and experimentation, JOMF are exceptional alchemists, as their polyphony of sound continually transmutes into gold, again and again.

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