Musical Analysis/Reaction of JINJER - Pearls and Swine (WALLFLOWERS - 06/11)

[@JWSoundworks2]

🎹 "Pisces" for Piano kzbin.info/www/bejne/jXjPnZumo96sjsk If you are enjoying the content, folks, please consider supporting me via one of the following platforms: PATREON - www.patreon.com/JWSoundworks ☕ www.buymeacoffee.com/JWsoundw... 🎸🎹 🎶 jwsoundworks.bandcamp.com/ 🤘JW

[@scottmorey6212]

This is my new favourite track, I listened to it on repeat all day yesterday, just has such a great groove to it and the last third has beautiful chord progression. Mmmmmmmm.

[@zwhtan]

So i almost never comment online, but this feels necessary. Thank you for your incredibly detailed yet sensitive observations that help me to better understand my own love for this, and i suppose for more complex music in general.

[@JWSoundworks2]

Thank you for the kind words! 🤘

[@Paulfighteronline]

Thanks for another reaction!🤘🔥 Pearls and Swine threw me for a loop, but the more I listened to it the more I appreciated Vlad's dynamics and choices. Tatiana's vocals are so diverse in this song, which really fits the changing riffs and moods. Eugene and Roman fit so well together, it feels so organic and smooth. Edit after watching: I'm glad you paid careful attention to the drums and the bass in this one. Your comment about long songs feeling short really resonated with me in this case. With a length of 5 minutes and 21 seconds, Pearls and Swine is by far the longest track on the album (followed by Sleep of the Righteous at 04.33) and it still leaves me wanting more. The lyrics definitely deserve further examination on this one, wonderfully crafted. To me the song is about the experience of emotionally investing in people who don't deserve it or who don't reciprocate, like lousy friends or strangers you've just met. I have definitely let go of some old friends because of that. Another idea is that the lyrics are about the polarised political climate, in which people are so hell-bent on defending their entrenched opinions rather than listen to each other. Anyway, let me know what you think!😁

[@Iamsmallfry]

Thanks for that bit at the end about the meaning. I was in the headspace where it was talking to my conglomeration of experiences. But it makes sense. I was raised it a fundamentalist cult, so I was thinking about it from rhat perspective. Also, the examination of my perspective is what walked me out of religion in general. I’d started asking myself, “do you want to win, or do you want to be correct?” That’s when I’d notice I was not listening to what anyone or any differing opinion thought; I was just waiting for my turn to spout what I already thought.

[@ליאורבוסיבא]

the end of this song gives me chills every time!

[@wgoms]

That chill almost ending part was used on Wallflowers, on credits.

[@DarkFirefly13]

I don't know why but the first riff (which is repeated several times throughout the song) reminds me of Gojira somehow. Also, you talked about the fact that Tatiana really knows how and when to place her voice and lyrics, which I couldn't agree more. She mentionned in some interviews that most of the time she listens to the demo maybe 10 times and then uses her instinct when recording the vocals. And when she doesn't really know what to do, the rest of the band makes suggestions as to what they imagined when creating the melody to help her understand the base material. Very interesting process, very talented musicians - all of them. And as per usual, love your content!

[@scottmorey6212]

Thanks for the info from the interviews, I can imagine that being the case. I reckon Tati goes in a different way from what the lads had intended on some tracks, which must be exciting to hear as a musician.

[@georgerodionov5941]

@@scottmorey6212 Eugene said they are always excited to hear Tatiana's take on the song, as she sometimes transforms it into something entirely different. In some KoE era interview she told that when she's not really a fan of the instrumental part, she, with her vocals, tries to somehow make it sound different, the way she likes it. The case with Mediator was that guys intended it to be a bonus track (As I boil ice was the final song, which sounds like it). But after the vocals were recorded, they decided it sounds good enough to be on the album, and even to be put out as a single

[@bysoundalone]

The Gojira part it’s probably because of that pitch shift effect Roman is using at the beginning, kinda like the one in stranded by gojira, just one less octave going up. I love that part too

[@mylife1221]

5:17 is easily one of my favourite things jinjer have created. when i first heard it during the credits of wallflower i immediately fell in love with it EDIT: 6:15 too, damn it jinjer, stop being out of this world

[@whrussy]

The part at 6:15 gives me chills every time. Every member of the band there is doing something so unique and amazing it is insane.

[@brandonconley2705]

Great analysis! I noticed towards the end that’s the part they used for the credits in Wallflower sweet! This album is soooo good!

[@ryanexsus]

You said it, to me the atmosphere in this song is amazing.

[@DarkFirefly13]

By the way, the slow part in the middle of this song is what they used at the end of the music video of Wallflower (the credits part)

[@cyberia55]

Ha! I didn’t see your comment before posting mine. Ya beat me to it. 😎

[@stangriffinstan_the_alaska9668]

It's Jinjer time. Loving this content. I've been noticing this album for me is more Roman heavy and that's a great thing. The band as a whole is amazing each person brings something and together it's very special. But actually hearing Roman carrying the songs as apposed to just adding spatial depth is cool. Peace from Stan the Alaskan

[@XRevMaynardX]

I look forward to these more than I probably should. Great shit, man!!

[@manjay49]

Your analysis is one of the best on KZbin. I appreciate it very much. Since you are well aware of and well-versed in classical traditions and chord progressions, along with their harmonic and melodic traditions could you comment on the classical influences in Jinjer's music? For instance, I hear definite influences of composers such as Mussorgsky, Rimsky-Korsakov, Stravinsky and even Ravel and Rachmaninoff. Although they are "metal" it seems to me they have drawn much more heavily from these European forms for their compositions rather than from r&b or rock or metal formats. The groove they display is another matter when they display jazz, especially their obsession with various triplet sub divisions, syncopation from funk and rock, cut time from reggae and more. Thanks.

[@scottmorey6212]

I agree, Vladi in particular brings in his classical influences and his hands are all over this album (think I read he 'wrote' 10 of the 11 tracks, so assume he provided a lot of input). Did Rimsky-Korsakov write The Bumblebee? I mentioned that to John in the comments to Disclosure! - during the "follow me, don't bother me" breakdown the drums & guitar were very reminiscent of The Bumblebee for me, providing a sense of manic tension. See if you agree.

[@briancarter3840]

Another influence that I think I can hear is Shostakovich, articularly his use of stabbing chords cutting into fast music.

[@andritti]

First time I saw them live, two weeks ago (29/06/2022), in Lisboa. One of the best gigs I ever witnessed in my 41 years of existence. And I got the luck and privilege to meet Vlad, Roman and their manager, Allen, and they were the coolest guys, and I also brought my Macro and Wallflower LPs and two posters and Vlad took them so that Eugene and Tatyana could sign them, for they were resting a bit before the gig... Just for reference, the day after this, Gojira came here also and it was amazing, of course, but I was still shook from the night before... Truly mind-blowing artists/musicians. André

[@anton41]

This album really grows on me. I can’t wait for Dead Hands Feel No Pain!

[@hugosilva6701]

Man...you definitely moved away from the basic "Reaction" videos, that in these days, are mediocre and the most, only are, because of band's popularity and everybody wants to "show up". You should ban the word "Reaction" from your videos because is almost offensive to your astonishing capability to understand music. "Analisys", suits u like a glove. Loving as well the fact that you are spending a lot of time with this new Jinjer album, that in my opinion, is an masterpiece of complexity (in a good way). Might not suit everybody because this album, is a perfect conjuction of complexity, plus heaviness, plus emotionality. A big part of metalheads wants only heaviness and fun and this album is more than that and demands a level up of music understanding that the most of the dudes that do reactions (including some of the more popular around here), dont have. I dont know if this album are on the run to "Metal album of the year" title, because of its complexity, but besides that, is an masterpiece without any doubt. Continue the awesome work!

[@drunk-idiot]

I agree on dropping the react since the react game is mostly phony people "acting" for views. You could call it, first time listen/analysis of _________

[@frankhermansen243]

I must admit some of the Songs I have to Reslisten a few times to get into. My mind need to readjust. I like to flow with the music, and With Some of the songs, the first listen are pure adventure, and after a few Listen you can flow with it.

[@jonathanc8560]

you're right... "reaction" sounds almost insulting based on the depths John dives into on each of his videos. I refused to watch any other channels reacting to the new Jinjer album. I'm waiting for John to do his breakdowns, lol. I can't articulate my words as well as yourself Hugo! So, thank you for saying exactly how I feel.

[@jonathanc8560]

​@@drunk-idiot i just wonder how forgiving the youtube "algorithm" will be with dropping the reaction word from the video titles? i do agree that he's, BY FAR, doing more than reacting. Shows much respect to each artist he creates content about. Glad Jinjer showed him some love with the acknowledgement on his work. He deserves it.

[@JWSoundworks2]

You guys are incredibly kind. I'm glad you're enjoying the videos. As for the "reaction" thing I am still using it as it feels like a buzzword. And as Jonathan said - if I drop it entirely my videos won't reach as far an audience. I do hope to drop it entirely at some point but I guess the reaction element is still there in that I don't listen to any of the songs before recording the videos. Thanks again dudes! ❤️🤘

[@module79l28]

When I saw the title of this song I thought "is that what I think it is?". Turns out it was. I thought the expression "atirar pérolas a porcos" only existed in Portuguese. : ) Anyway, judging by some comments I've read/heard from some pseudo music experts about this album, there are a lot of swines out there who are unable to appreciate the pearls that were thrown before them.

[@gaudelio25]

Eu também, mas num desses sites de letras tinha um quote dela falando que era uma expressão encontrada na Biblia.

[@bernhardkulzer9125]

Come to wait for every new reaction for the next Jinjer song. I`ve bought the CD and - of course I`ve listened to each song already a couple of times. Actually I wanted to wait for the next official video, but... 😳 Thanks for guiding us through every new piece of art and letting us find all the treasure in the huge mines of every song! 🤘😁

[@TrendTrader2185]

Another great reaction/ analysis! I love the fact that you're going track by track. I've heard some people give this album flack saying it wasn't as strong as Macro. I actually wasn't a huge fan of everything on Macro. This is a step up for me personally. Nice shirt by the way!! I find it funny case in your outro music when you're sitting on the Dock I get Soilwoek vibes, even before I seen you wearing this shirt lol.

[@camlloyd3321]

Well done Sir! Your ear for music is amazing!

[@metalgearshady7875]

Totally agree about the perception of time here. Things like Mediator or some others on the album (like the next one, at least to me) feel longer than they are while this one felt not as long and I had to recheck the length lol

[@metalgearshady7875]

Literally just now again I'm wondering how exactly the last 5 minutes have passed XD And I'm really not a person who would dissect songs, paying close attention to different instruments etc.

[@ragnarjak2455]

It seems to me that Mediator is subconsciously perceived by the listener as two songs, so it feels longer in time

[@metalgearshady7875]

​@@ragnarjak2455 I had a similar impression yes, only, to me it's still more like two acts of a same thing than two songs. But definitely the more things happen within a song the longer it feels, even for me and I really don't try to pay attention to time siganture shifts and other stuff. The guys also have a good sense of... idk proportion, balance? It feels like for other bands that would be indeed like a 6 minute songs because they'd just repeat the same thing for longer period (idk things like Drudkh come to mind), but Jinjer somehow are able not only to do "just enough" but also pack all the different variations on the same thing (but again it's not what I even perceive consciously)

[@metalgearshady7875]

Re-listened "Sleep of the Righteous" for example and again - stuff's going on like the brutal modern metal things, then delicate (opeth-like vibe?) parts and as result it feels like 6-8 minutes but no 4-something.

[@telecastersaremetal6648]

Completely understand. My favorite song of all time is “Dogs” by Pink Floyd. It’s over seventeen minutes long but always feels like it’s half as long when I hear it.

[@MrTeffalik]

Did you notice that that calm piece of the song was already in another song before? The single "wallflowers" featured this music during the credits. But only guitar and bass. When I first heard this I had goosebumps all over my body!)

[@cyberia55]

You too! Now I feel silly. Two of you beat me to posting this comment. 😂

[@stephaniesanchez3582]

This was so fun and neat to watch! Thank you for sharing

[@ndve8229]

I can feel that to with the time you kinde of dissapear in the song and swish it ends and 7 minutes has gone by

[@maasawdreamt8521]

DIS the one I be waitin' for most, so stoked!

[@omega6962]

Иллюзия хаоса, по которой можно проверять на точность, с..ка, метроном! У кого же из них в голове все эти узоры..? Подозреваю, что скорее всего у всех четверых, иначе эти, каждая по-своему шикарные, партии, не звучали бы как одно целое. Ух и собралась компашка)))

[@MrTeffalik]

На мой взгляд они лучшие музыканты (во всех проявлениях этого термина) нашего времени!) люблю их. Как же я не могу дождаться концерта!)

[@rofyle]

I could have listened to this song a thousand times and not have noticed that bell had you not pointed it out.

[@ryanexsus]

I feel like this was a 7 minute jam, that they cut down to like 5 minutes. They packed so many ideas into this one. I would love to hear what Jinjer would do if they had like a 7 min epic song.

[@Jinjer13]

one more time > ohohohohohoohohohoho............!

[@cat-o-matic]

Yes, it's the tight mesh between Roman and Eugene that gets me confused as to which is playing the parts I'm hearing. In any case, it sounds good.

[@RyanMcMusic]

To my ear the effect on the intro sounds like the wet delay track has a high and low shelf to 'take the corners off the sound' like Valhalla delay (listening through a Ford transit stereo, mind...). Nice vid amigo, keep 'em coming!

[@JWSoundworks2]

Nice audio set-up! I was near sure I was hearing the same notes +12 semitones higher with that whammy effect. Incredibly low in the mix. Not certain, though.

[@metalgearshady7875]

It's very subjective I guess, but I've been thinking that I don't really hear anything in their songs I've listened to would appear like a "solo" to me (but I've mostly listened to them as a quartet already). To me it's definitely a positive thing, because (or despite) growing up with things like Deep Purple, Uriah Heep etc. I could see how the solos in more 'modern' (still already kinda old now) metal music somehow degenerated in boring and unjustified wankery to the point that I really don't see why would a song need a solo. And in Jinjer songs (at least the ones I listened to so far) I enjoy that everything is just a part of a song, even in their earlier songs that sometimes sound like a jigsaw puzzle of genres it's still not as unnatural as goddamn guitar solos out of nowhere. Probably to other people it's actually a negative thing XD That said, still can't help but to enjoy DPs hammond solos and guitar solos and drum solos, but the experience is almost ruined for me with the thought of how such song pattern became annoying to me later :(

[@JWSoundworks2]

Totally with you on this one. I love solos BUT unless there's something interesting also happening within the composition, they are a waste of time. I don't want to hear someone attempting to show-off. Give me a solo that weaves itself into the music and enhances it instead of wanking over a cool chord progression please!

[@panossyle1710]

Can't wait for your analysis, to probably one of my fav song of this album which is "as i boil ice", because i can't figure out why i love it so much. Another great analysis man, thank you for taking your time and pinpoint important music elements in every video of yours so far. Keep up the good work. Greetings from Greece.

[@badm0t0rf1nger]

Loving this #AlbumCompanion series John. I can't see anything else displacing this from my Album of the Year slot. How allergic is Vlad to straight 4/4?! LOL p.s. there's nowt wrong with a little sludgey Soundgarden-ish guitar btw! ;)

[@TheIpadfanatic]

Tatiana's vocal instrument right out of the gate @ 8 AM maybe a little too much for me. That said, I was getting strong Post Grunge vibes. Stone Temple Pilots a bit? Still not my brand. But a promise was a promise to continue this journey. My mind is shifting a bit. DAMN YOU JOHN! And well done.

[@jonaswalter9800]

it’s a shame they never perform this song live

[@alexandrestarinsky1055]

Their most Opethian song so far

[@papaherf7349]

So amazing how They change moods and their flow within songs. Seamless and creative, soooo much ear candy. Side note; do you know Brymir? Just curious if you know of them. Your band name is similar.

[@JWSoundworks2]

Haven't heard of Brymir, dude. Diamir is a mountain face in the Himalayas, the other side of The Rupal Face. As I write for both projects I named them as opposite sides of the same mountain. Brymir any good?

[@papaherf7349]

@@JWSoundworks2 didn’t know that👍. Yeah I enjoy them ( many aspects you’d prolly enjoy!). Give em a taste, good stuff.

[@polish72]

4:08 Gwen Stefani? jaja

[@leviathan3630]

Omg ur right lol

[@kikogod]

Really interesting one. Definitely one of the best on the album but still, like a lot of the new Jinjer stuff, all over the place with a lot of really good moments by themselves, but not very coherent whole.