Album review: O Emperor - Jason

It’s always tricky when a band announces its new album is also to be its swan song. In the case of Cork-based, Waterford indie five-piece O Emperor the situation is further complicated by the fact Jason is considerably more avant garde — often plain drooling-at-the-chops bonkers — than what has gone before.

A feverish sense of dislocation hangs about the 16 tracks, most of which were assembled during a three-day burst of creativity at the group’s home studio in Cork. That’s both a strength and a weakness, with Jason committing whole heartedly to its proggy noodling and Zappa-isms but arguably at the risk of alienating casual fans.

But if the LP is likely to prove divisive as a farewell gesture considered to in isolation it’s thrillingly outré — a collection that doesn’t care whether the listener is committed or not and feels all the richer for it. It is also a brave break with the more stately music with which O Emperor built their reputation, earning a Choice Music Prize nomination in the process.

There are occasional concessions to convention. ‘Effort’ is jaunty gothic boogie-woogie, and ‘The Right Thing To Do’ floats on grooves that could well have been repurposes from Air’s ‘Moon Safari’.

But these are gateway confections and we’re soon off somewhere weird and occasionally wonderful (but mostly weird). As per the title, ‘Richard’s Dream is an out of body experience soundtracked by slow funk tempos (it sounds like something Mo’Wax could have put out in 1998) while ‘New Fish Tank’ could be Radiohead trapped in a lift and running out of oxygen.

O Emperor had the same unhappy experience as so many other Irish bands — signed by a major for their debut and then left to twist in the wind. It’s to their credit that, rather than merely peter out, they’ve exited with a flourish and a dazzling statement of ambition.

Jason won’t be to all tastes — those who can attune to its eccentric vibrations will be entranced.