Norma Jean: Wrongdoers

Norma Jean has a lot of positive momentum right now. One of the reasons for this, frankly, is because they are still around, having survived a very recent round of creative turmoil and some serious lineup changes. A ten year run is pretty good; even with the good impression this band has made on audiences and critics, some people worried that this band was ready to hang things up forever.

I happened to see Norma Jean perform just a few nights ago at the Salt Lake City stop of the Summer Slaughter tour. They sounded great, playing with incredible amounts of energy and passion. I really liked the way they began swaying back and forth as a band before striking any notes or beats. As they began to play, their bodies never stopped roaming about anxiously.

The new album, Wrongdoers, is very good. The music strikes me as being somewhat more complex than some of the older work. I genuinely like the older stuff, but I was also impressed with the way these songs were able to make so much order out of chaos. Let's face it: Norma Jean is a loud, noisy, band, one not very committed to traditional melodic hooks or catchy choruses. With this album, they push listeners into dark and aggressive spaces and mostly leave them there. I should point out that there are some melodic moments on this album. "Sword in Mouth, Fire Eyes," for example, has a slower, melodic, section. I liked these moments, but I think this band does better when they draw on melodic moments only briefly. Here are the highlights of the album: "If You Got it at Five, You Got it at Fifty," "Afterhour Animals" (because it's just so funny and odd), and "Sun Dies, Blood Moon." The last track, nearly fifteen minutes of apocalyptic gloom, was simultaneously captivating, noisy, melodic, and scary. I loved it.

The cover on this album also really draws my attention. It depicts what appears to be a woman's head; her eyes, pointed upward and outward, glow in an unusual, possibly supernatural, way; her hands are placed at the top of her chest, but her fingers (and ribs) are skinless, skeletal. I wish I knew what it meant, but it brings to mind something to do with the problem of the brain versus the body. The title, Wrongdoers is also important here. The woman hasn't done anything obviously wrong. Her appearance, though, suggests her humanity, her vulnerability to death and decay. Maybe this picture is a reflection on what makes us human, on what ties us together. Is it out bodies, our minds, our actions, or some connection between all these things and more?

I won't go on about all this. It is safe to say, though, that Norma Jean brings a certain thoughtfulness to their work in general. Cory Brandan, lead singer for the band, states that the title actually does have to do with understanding part of what makes human beings relate to one another. As he puts it, "Our wrong is something that brings everyone into the same light. No one escapes that category and it actually brings us together, we are united by it." Well put.

Track Listing:
1. Hive Minds
2. If You Got It At Five, You Got It At Fifty
3. Wrongdoers
4. Potter Has No Hands
5. Sword in Mouth, Fire Eyes
6. Afterhour Animals
7. The Lash Whistled Like A Singing Wind
8. Neck in the Hemp
9. Triffids
10. Funeral Singer
11. Sun Dies, Blood Moon

Added: August 20th 2013
Reviewer: Carl Sederholm
Score:
Related Link: Band Website
Hits: 1901
Language: english

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