It’s always been pretty much impossible to determine even the general shape a Nicolas Jaar project will take, from his debut album Space Is Only Noise, which was a thoroughly subversive and experimental departure from his slightly more dance-oriented origins, to his much more conventionally aimed work with Dave Harrington as the as-of-now defunct Darkside, to even his recently launched radio service tied to his Other People imprint, The Network, the purpose of which is still a bit of a mystery.
Therefore, when I tell you that Nicolas Jaar has detailed his new album Sirens, which is out on digital platforms September 30 with CD and vinyl copies available October 14 through Other People (pre-order here), what I really mean is, “Here is the most basic possible information to let you know when, where, and how you’ll be able to listen to some new Nicolas Jaar music, but good luck trying to glean anything meaningful about what to expect from some album art and a tracklist.” But that’s kind of a long headline, and I’m not quite as artistically innovative as Nicolas Jaar, so I erred on the side of standard practices.
The press release does call Sirens Jarr’s “most topically cohesive and politically-minded record to date,” which is something. Still, if you’ve been patiently awaiting some proper Jaar sounds following his soundtrack for the 2015 Palme d’Or winning Dheepan, his 2015 pseudo-soundtrack for Sergei Parajanov’s classic 1969 Soviet film The Color of Pomegranates, or Darkside’s 2013 debut Psychic, this announcement is doubtless exciting, as should be the knowledge that Sirens is set to debut on channel 333 of The Network in “the coming days.” Plus, if you’d like to engage with Nicolas Jaar’s many enigmas in person, you have the opportunity during his huge fall tour, which is set to take him through the US and Europe. Dates and tickets can be found here.
Sirens tracklisting:
01. Killing Time
02. The Governor
03. Leaves
04. No
05. Three Sides of Nazareth
06. History Lesson