Joan of Arc, Joan of Arc (side A)

After countless albums spanning 15+ years, Joan of Arc chose a the band's name as the title of this 2012 LP.  The band has zig-zagged in the last few years between albums of songs and more abstract explorations, and Joan of Arc includes one side of each.  Its biggest differentiation within their catalog might be the absence of amplification.  The first side includes six solo songs of Tim Kinsella's vocal and acoustic guitar.  It's bright and airy, but not at all harsh or modern sounding.  As is common in Kinsella's writing, the songs fall somewhere between traditional pop structures and more abstract exploration.  Most songs feature more chords and an emphasis on the acoustic nature of the songwriting — the exception is "Peace Corpse", with angular guitar lines that would not be out of place on the group's electric records.  Side B is filled with a long instrumental called "Chaplinesque", on which layers of acoustic guitars spread across the stereo field, with a simple drum part underpinning them.  It loosely resembles some of Rhys Chatham's work, recast with acoustic instruments and less propulsion.  It's recorded nicely, with less character but more fidelity, than the side of songs.  The excellent cover painting depicts Charlie Chaplin and the elephant man, without any other design elements, on reverse-stock white paper — its only connection to the music is the "Chaplinesque" title of side B.