Having initially combined forces to make the album ‘Metal Box – Rebuilt In Dub,’ released in 2021, Jah Wobble and Jon Klein have maintained their association both live and creating new music in the studio. This has resulted in ‘Automated Paradise,’ their third album together released this month.
Jah Wobble (born John Wardle) is a renowned bass guitarist and vocalist from East London. He was the original bassist in Public Image Ltd (PiL) in the late seventies, formed The Invaders Of The Heart, has collaborated with Holger Czukay and Jaki Liebezeit from Can and The Edge from U2. He has worked with Ginger Baker, Bjork, Brian Eno, Massive Attack, Sinead O’Connor, Pharoah Sanders, Lonelady and his wife Zi Lan Liao, a Chinese guzheng player and harpist.
Jon Klein is a guitarist and producer best known for being a member of Siouxsie and the Banshees and had originally been in the Bristol-based Europeans before forming glam-goth act Specimen and relocating to London where he was involved with The Batcave night club. Klein has recorded and played live with a wide variety of artists that include Talvin Singh, Shriekback, Sinead O’Connor and Thomas Dolby while his production company Ground Control has overseen recordings by the likes of David Devant and His Spirit Wife and Spanish chart toppers Fangoria.
`Fading Away` guides us in and is according to JW “an end-of-civilisation story, echoing one of the earliest themes of human literature and reflecting a persistent human anxiety about the fragility of social order.” It`s a spoken word oration about a kind of apocalyptic doomsday scenario shared in a tender matter of fact style. There`s a much more upbeat musical backing to `Make It Stop` which touches on insane societal pressures before a diatribe on environmental issues and being overwhelmed.
I read that `Who Wins?` is “a good old protest song, pointing fingers and making a racket,” while Wobble calls the material “Proper post punk. Angry and humorous.” It`s quite prosaic with a fairly straightforward reasoned argument shared over some dreamy rhythmic tones. We have in `Read Between The Lines` a poetic discourse that floats from spoken to sung about alienating oneself from life`s challenges and struggles. The musical accompaniment mirrors the isolating nature of the dialogue.
`Automated Paradise` shares a compelling late nite jazzy vibe during it`s one hundred and eight seconds of life before we have an angry dissent with `Terminal, Terminal The End` offered against a drone like sliding cacophony of sound.
`Endless Sky` is rapidly and hurriedly assigned and may refer to a boundless, vast expanse, symbolising limitless, eternal space or freedom. A philosophical metaphor maybe for the infinite universal essence that sustains all existence. There`s some sweet, percussion, a guiding bass line and odd synth shades giving it a jazz like ambience. The final cut `Brockwell Lido` which appears to be named after a large lido in Brockwell Park, Herne Hill, London, which opened in July 1937, closed in 1990 and after a local campaign was re-opened in 1994. It`s a delightfully absorbing listen with a Summery laid back vibe made for and portraying a relaxing carefree environment or atmosphere. The bass, percussive beat, keys, and melodica all blended so wonderfully on this final composition.
The release runs at around thirty minutes and left me wanting so much more. The combination of Wobble/ Klein worked so well musically and Jah`s distinctive London brogue or estuary English was joyful as it moved through a variety of emotions such as anger, frustration to bliss. One bonus of the half-hour of material is that you haven`t an excuse not to allocate an hour and play it twice.
Rating 9/10
