Jane Weaver – Love in Constant Spectacle

Jane Weaver - Love in Constant Spectacle_dront_SftDS Jane Weaver returns with her most heartfelt work up until now.

It is safe to say that Jane Weaver is a woman to our heart. Since she started her career in the 90s she’s been as eclectic as one can imagine.It also meant that it took a while before she broke through as a larger following, yes we are among them, came after 2014’s release of The Silver Globe. In the past ten years she found her footing by creating her own niche of avant-pop music. Flock’s (2021) The Revolution of Super Visions still is on high rotation over here and it’s no understatement to put her name next to monumental acts like Stereolab or Goldfrapp.

After the vibrant arrangements of her last two albums Love In Constant Spectacle brings more introspection. On her tenth album she opens with Perfect Storm which is loaded with slippery synths that intertwine with some catchy bass lines.This sort of synth use reminds strongly of Flock and Modern Kosmology (2017). Although the synths return in a wavy form on Romantic Worlds this latest album is no direct sequel.

Love in Constant Spectacle marks Weaver’s first collaboration with producer John Parish, well known for his work with PJ Harvey, Aldous Harding and many others. This collaboration contributes to the album’s down-to-earth touch, and contrasts with Weaver’s earlier other-worldly albums. Tracks like Emotional Components and Happiness in Proximity contain lazy soft rock instrumentation and upfront vocals that underscore reflective, sometimes aching tone of the album.

JaneWeaver_by-Rebecca-Lupton

Weaver’s signature cosmic vibe still permeates the album, but there’s a newfound realisation that love and loss are universal themes. The album’s title track exemplifies this, with watery rock guitars, an electronic taffy-pull Weaver creating a feeling of open, cosmic space as she sings: “You weren’t here when I wrote this. You weren’t here when I noticed. You weren’t here when I’m down”. This spaciousness is also evident in slower songs like The Axis and the Seed, where Weaver’s voice echoes out from profound solitude. Here and on many other songs she allows in a creeping sadness that sometimes expresses itself a nagging uncertainty and sometimes is all consuming. On the album’s stripped-back tracks, such as Motif and Univers, we hear the Parish trademark best. Weaver’s voice excels against minimal arrangements and further emphasises the heavy heartedness of Love in Constant Spectacle.

Jane Weaver’s latest work is a positive addition to her catalogue. While centering around heavier introspective themes the sense of experiment and playfulness stays very much intact. Maybe it’s far-fetched to call this combination unique but the nods to previous eras of music and the recalibration of herself as an artist again cumulates into an album that will stick around for a while.