2018 Album Retrospective #5: A.A.L (Against All Logic) - 2012-2017
Some artists seek to make music that evokes powerful emotions, that tells a compelling story, or that innovates and pushes their art (and that of others) forward. Others just do it to make catchy music people can dance to at the club. Fans of the former style often look down upon the makers and listeners of the latter, decrying it as shallow and superficial, forgetting that sometimes people don't want something as complex as it is enjoyable. Sometimes 'shallow and superficial' get the job done just fine.
Nicolas Jaar has been putting out music at the intersect of these ideals for quite some time now, under more than a few names. Perhaps most notable previously for his art pop collaboration with guitarist Dave Harrington entitled Psychic, Jaar's work is a far cry from mainstream club anthems. But if there were any possible reason for why his music is as underground as it is, it would be that his ingenuity is only matched by his ear for infectious grooves.
Although perhaps that is not the whole truth of his unpopularity; Jaar's decision to drop his latest work under the new name of Against All Logic (A.A.L for short) can't have helped fans new or old discover his creations. Which is a shame, honestly, because 2012-2017 is perhaps the most ambitious deep house album ever produced.
Presumably named after the period of time it was constructed during, 2012-2017 is a collection of some of the most innovative house music in that genre's history, at a time when few of its champions remain. Doubly impressive is the fact that Jaar has jumped between a number of musical styles in the past; despite all his experimentation, none of his prior efforts in ambient music or microhouse sound quite like this.
Though perhaps in some ways, working on 2012-2017 felt like a return to his roots for Jaar. The name of the opening track says it all for him: This Old House Is All I Have. As the tension builds over uneasy bass rumblings, the vocal sample repeatedly intones "The foundations/Of the world/Are being broken/Broken, broken". The distorted bass continues to disrupt even after the slick guitar line establishes a groove; this album is far more than back-to-basics house music.
Sampling is a key component of many of the beats present here, but nowhere is it more jarring and more eclectic than on Such A Bad Way, a synth-heavy cut notable also for its punchy melodies and dynamic hi-hats. The track borrows in its second half from Kanye West's I Am A God off of 2013's Yeezus, specifically Kanye's psychotic scream and the pitched-town chanting of "I am a god". It makes for one hell of a surprise, but not entirely an unpleasant one.
As the album progresses past the opener and the snare-heavy I Never Dream, the listener quickly becomes enveloped in the futuristic and yet familiar sounds of one song after the next, each lengthy and somewhat repetitive yet never feeling tedious. Some Kind of Game leans heavily on the recurrence of a single piano chords for almost seven minutes and yet is one of the most memorable and impressive tracks here. Conversely, Cityfade begins with a simple, almost jazz-sounding phrase on top of hand claps, and continues building on itself with new instruments and sounds while never losing that initial bounce.
Easily the funkiest and most accessible track on here, Know You features more modern-sounding drum loops over a ridiculously catchy melody and bass line, all held together by the liberal use of a vocal sample whose lyrics about getting to know a stranger at a party fit perfectly as the backdrop to a club banger. Not every track is as inviting as this, however: You Are Going to Love Me and Scream features in its second half, appropriately, pitched samples of screaming, though only after the build-up to a drop that is less 'bass-heavy' and more 'break your speakers with low noise'. And yet, it stills sounds amazing.
If there is any bone to be picked with this album, it is only that not every single track can maintain its energy from beginning to end. Particularly, Flash in the Pan and Rave on U are both overly lengthy moments near the end of the album that wear out far too quickly, especially with the latter running almost ten minutes. But even then, flashes of invention still exist, such as the varying percussion supporting the synthetic chords on Rave on U, creating a dreamy, whimsical vibe.
As inviting as this album is after getting past its stranger idiosyncrasies, it would be misleading to call it the kind of house music that gets popular enough to ever actually be played at a club or rave. Even without the extended track times and occasional bouts of screaming, Nicolas Jaar's work will likely always be relegated to this fate without major concessions in his sound, ultimately defeating its purpose. But 2012-2017 feels more than anything like a collage of Jaar's most passionate works, innovative and exciting yet never seeming unapproachable. Whether a music snob or a more casual listener, this is the house album to remember.