Tim Kinsella's
Joan of Arc have always been a free-floating collective of musicians, translating
Kinsella's songwriting into musical language with all the tools (and people) they happen to have available at the time of recording. And, as occasionally happens on
Joan of Arc records, 2010's
Don't Mind Control expands the concept yet further. This one includes 18 different groups performing new songs, the only cord tying them together being kinship with the band at some point. The bands range from likely one-time-only assemblages to more established acts in the
Joan of Arc sphere, and making appearances are many of the old familiar names:
Ben Vida,
Mike Kinsella, Josh Abrams, and
Cale Parks. As could be expected, the musical range is wide, from skronky guitar workouts to confessional acoustic songwriting to experimental drones. What ties them together is the apparent goal of
Joan of Arc from the beginning: to dispense the widest variety of sounds from the most familial group of musicians in indie rock. ~ John Bush