3 out of 5

Label: Record Label

Produced by: Bobby Burg

Remember when Joan of Arc was Joan of Arc, all Jade Tree emo widgery-doo and screechy voice cut-and-paste antics?

At some point – or at several points – the band ducked and dodged, retaining sounds that are still very much them and became, instead of a representative group name, a collective of sorts – of Kinsellas, of Sam Zurick, and various other recognizable Chicago names – toying more and more with concept: Of song, of band, of music.  Always identifiable as JoA, but a much wider, and yet more personal, definition of what that could mean.

As per that description, releases have slid between different styles, emerging as more poppy, or aggressive, and so on.  Eventually is, perhaps, one of their most subtle and almost soothing albums, its 35 minutes of sparse guitar plunkings and Kinsella musings lilting by almost inoffensively.  While it’s played and recorded rather delicately, the jaunty guitar lines are reminiscent of the band’s general “sound,” and we can’t escape without at least one dumb sing-song ramble track like “If All These People Can Understand Money.”  But digging in a bit deeper – paying a bit more attention – certainly rewards via the disc’s subtleties, and the sneaky pop urgency of tracks like “Miss Cat Piss and Peppermint,” or “Living Out in the Sea of Umbrellas.” While Kinsella’s lyrics – when not silly – have erred towards vague, “Eventually” comes across as thoughtful, and especially heartfelt when the album surges with surprising strings on the excellent penultimate Scratches a Pencil.

For those who’ve stuck by JoA over the steady evolution, “Eventually” isn’t an immediate stand-out, coming across as pleasant more than anything.  But showing the band’s ever-growing maturity, it’s an album that doesn’t mind taking some time to work its magic, and eventually (sigh) earn your attention.