Album Review: Joan Of Arc - Testimonium Songs

An ambitious song cycle with theatre-show roots, Joan Of Arc's Testimonium Songs is an unusually hard pill to swallow. Without the visual and narrative connections that aid in giving the music any context, frontman Tim Kinsella's trademark warble and seemingly rhythmless lyricism feel more aimless than usual. Acoustic opener Amelia is palatable enough, while the near-14-minute The Bird's Nest Wrapped Around The Security Camera is a standout, if only because its excessive length and ream of apparently arbitrary movements keep the listener engaged out of sheer morbid curiosity. For die-hards only.