Meaningful Work’ is more or less right in the middle. As close to a ‘standard’ Joan Of Arc rock number as you can really get, fans will like it, and those who have never really liked the band and go to their shows purely to shout for American Football songs will still wonder what all the fuss is about. It is, however, a pretty good introduction for newcomers to the world of Joan Of Arc – if you like ‘Meaningful Work’ and the more-of-the-same B-side ‘The Thing In Things’, then it’s a pretty good sign that you should go back and try out some of their finer albums, namely Live In Chicago, 1999, which isn’t actually a live album and is probably closest in sound to these new tracks. If you’re not feeling it, though, then it’s a fair shout that you won’t be all that impressed with anything the band has to offer.
-Rob Evans-
