Illusory Truths by Leyden Jars

AST162: Leyden Jars - Illusory Truths c41

I came across London duo Leyden Jars, comprising Natalie Williams and Mark Courtney, after their music jumped out of an NTS show a couple of years ago. After making contact, it was clear we had a shared lexicon and Natalie and Mark were kind enough to work on something for Altered States Tapes. Coincidentally, it was at the same time I connected with The Dengie Hundred and, (un)surprisingly there was already an existing relationship (extending back to high school) between members of the two projects.

The entanglement of the underground's rhizomes knows no bounds. 



Soon after, Leyden Jars graced me with a copy of the forgeries cassette, released on their own Goods Outward label, which became a regular object of fixation. Most recently, Natalie and Mark released the excellent Filterbeds LP with their close friend, Jim Whelan, who sadly passed away shortly before its release. Filterbeds can be seen as an continuation and expansion of the Leyden Jars narrative and comes highly recommended to anyone interested in tapping the vital modern pulse. 


Put simply, Leyden Jars' sound is an experimental one, never lapsing into cheap noise tropes or tepid ambience. Truly experimental, in that it is adventurous and never sits still, always searching. Occasionally difficult, sure, but not lacking in regular glistens of beauty interspersed on the path throughout. The end result revealing something of a confluence, wherein various strains of folk, DIY electronics and sound art idioms comfortably coalesce. 



Illusory Truths starts with an abruptly uneven-footing of tape looped clank over which Williams' incantations drift like a whispered mirage. Other moments recall the delicate, arcane tendencies of one of my favourite groups, Ksiezyc. Elements of drum programming snatched from a DIY club appear and dissolve as quickly as they manifested. Like someone out for a good time unknowingly wandering into a ritual circle and curtly showing themselves the door. Autodidactic clarinet conjuring plumes of scarlet smoke floating overhead in other moments. At times, the gamut of human experience is contained in their nonsong.

To my ears, there is something truly beguiling contained in Leyden Jars, its essence is impossible to pin down. The impenetrability of their enfolded puzzles bearing continued rewards.