Review Summary: Marsen Jules extends a quiet, expressive introduction that works through its shortcomings.
As is the case for many electronic musicians, Marsen Jules serves as a romanticized moniker for German ambient artist Martin Juhls. Also similar to others in the "genre", Jules' signature musical execution is one that relies strongly on the implementation of dynamic swelling, delicate phrasing and, at times, dense sonic texture. His 2003 debut,
Lazy Sunday Funerals does a fine job at incorporating some of these standard elements which, in atmospheric music, are crucial in the divide between noise and aural consonance. The defining shortcoming for the album, however, is that these standards do not get pushed much further and result in the occasional sense of repetition and inactivity.
The album, as an entire body of work, is one that exudes somewhat of mystique that seemingly must be listened to. I admit that when stumbling upon it the name itself, as well as the absence of any distinguishing track titles seemed promising enough for me to look into. It didn't even occur to me until much, much later that the significance of a Sunday funeral is the reluctance in some religious sects to bury the dead on Sundays. Perhaps had I realized this earlier the mood of the piece would have instantly correlated with the supposed intent in the title. Still this knowledge is not such a large factor that its absence diminishes the experience, but adds a little something to it instead.
As I said before, the tracks bear no titles and, though it is not impossible to discern one from the next, the listen is not one consisting of songs but rather an entire piece. The content in the record itself captures what it may very well feel like to be at this (lazy) Sunday funeral. Nearly all of it is a relatively quiet, intimate experience that moves with a particular heaviness. Not a crushing feeling or a overwhelmingly intense sensation but rather one that sighs like the melancholic footsteps leading up to a metaphorical grave. It is this subtlety, a lingering passiveness in the emotive quality here that seems to aim more at disarming the listener rather than penetrating the senses.
The downside to this dreary persistence is that it, throughout the duration, can grow a degree tedious. Never once do the textures swell to the point of threatening to overpower the listener but there are times, as in the bookends and a track or two between, where things can get dull. More often than not this is simply due to a repetition of a motive that either drags on a bit long or simply never meets up with any sort of counter harmony or separate idea. The shame is that the music itself here is mostly heartachingly serene and blissful yet some of the portions stretch themselves too long. The opening track, for example, acts as the longest but would be much more effective if it were cut perhaps even in half.
Luckily not every track becomes a victim to these extended periods of inactivity. The second and third tracks (
02,
03) break up the monotony of the opener with a modest melody sounding quietly in the delicately dense layers of the former. The latter sounds modest chordal swells in what sounds to be the least somber of the record, perhaps even hinting at a bittersweet sense of complacent resolve. The fifth and shortest track on the record (
05) also flirts with an almost playful flute-like motive that moves like rain atop what sounds like ripples moving across pools of sound.
This is a challenging listen because for the most part there are not very many true flaws with the record. While it does tend to drag, that in and of itself seems to fit within the mood rather than serve as a distraction. The only real downfall with this is that there is not a great deal of strengths present either. For the most part there are no specifically memorable tracks nor is there any real climax or cadence. Of course it very well may be that these things were not necessarily meant to be intended or conveyed in the first place. Still, despite what it may or may not have
Lazy Sunday Funerals is, at the very least, a pleasing piece of music. Like any atmospheric record this is best played when accompanied by silence, but the title itself seems to further suggest that it was meant to be.
Recommended Tracks:
Lazy Sunday Funerals 02
Lazy Sunday Funerals 03
Lazy Sunday Funerals 06
