It is always difficult to balance between creativity and immediacy. For Jason Anthony Harris, and his project Public Speaking, this is a much-welcomed challenge. Indeed, Harris’ new work An Apple Lodged In My Back does not shy away from its pop sensibilities. As “Swollen Feet” comes in, the soulful and intimate approach usually produced by mainstream artists comes through. It is catchy and easygoing, but soon enough everything gets inverted. The jazz injections become prominent, slowly navigating through laid-back motifs, as with “Sleepwalking” or reaching for frantic crescendos. In the same breath, Harris lays out a backdrop of organ music, creating a mesmerizing scenery. Without missing a beat, the record then turns to volatile paths, embracing an IDM mindset, upsetting the straight progression.
This appreciation of the pop immediacy, but still an unwillingness to be confined within its borders, makes a strange parallel to the career progression of Scott Walker. Instead of going full-throttle into the dark depths of The Drift, Harris makes a counterfactual case. What would happen if you injected avant-garde ideas in Scott 4? The neo-classical parts of “Manifest” attempt to answer this question, and there is even something of an upbeat element that finds its way in “Right Angle Wrong Shape.” The baroque pop gives birth to this avant-pop offering, with Harris making great use of all the tools at his disposal. Simple sound effects can go a long way, the panning shifting the scenery and creating disorientation and slight glitch alterations over the vocals construct stellar moments in “Debts.”
There are times when Harris does traverse to the darker depths. The title track sees a much more oppressive and intense presence rise. The rhythmic ferocity and the gunshot sample here are used to great effect. Similarly, the transitions from the straight start of “Glass Throat” to a mess of recorded samples, noise, and harsh effects are exquisite. It is something that propels the record towards a no-wave quality. The re-imaginations of Coil take form with “Repulse,” and the musique concrete aspects of “My Enemy Is Dead” capture a dark ambient approach. Still, the fact that Public Speaking can just turn this all around, delivering something as balanced and measured as “What A Proud Boy,” is what makes An Apple Lodged In My Back a completely different animal.
