Between Claw Machine and Starburned and Unkissed, the collective artists on I Saw the TV Glow may have a shot at a longstanding cultural titan. Jane Schoenbrun has gathered exciting musicians from the swathes of overlooked alternative creators, collecting them for their latest A24 film. Hayley Dahl of Sloppy Jane and Caroline Polachek are massive draws for any project. Creatives who, irrespective of their successes so far, have a natural knack for understanding the depth of a project and the direction it can take. Look no further than Madison and Desire, I Want to Turn into You respectively, two of the finest albums to release this decade. More from them is only a good thing and Claw Machine, the Sloppy Jane latest featuring Phoebe Bridgers, is a riotous thrill.
Constant, clawing piano work makes for a nice bed of sound to introduce the I Saw the TV Glow title. This is not just a song made for a movie but another exceptional extension of the Sloppy Jane project. Connotations of those dark shades of blue and the boredom which comes from the passive style of life is a fantastic line of exposition. Paired with the brass and orchestral sharpness lingering underneath there is, yet again, another consistent piece of Madison slipping through. Much like the cover of Cancer from My Chemical Romance, the stern and alternative tone taken by Sloppy Jane is an infectiously unique experience. Claw Machine lingers as a neat summary of the film it finds itself part of – this wild joy founded on our dreams and youthful experiences. Unchanged by the flow of the real world they linger on as stunning and innocent early years before the reality checks of the modern day step up.
What remains is the essential core of Sloppy Jane as a project. Bridgers brings some well-implemented vocal additions to the second verse as the pair muse on manicured lawns and this image of perfection in a life far from those outlooks. Those flickers of not trusting yourself linger in the final lines and with it comes the shattering innocence Claw Machine tries and succeeds in latching onto. I Saw the TV Glow is a growing project, like the Sloppy Jane experience of the last few years. Dahl and Schoenbrun hold similar mindsets about how a project should be viewed. An initial release is far from the end of a piece of work. It is how the reaction settles in, how viewers and listeners connect, which morphs the project and creates those next steps. Longevity is a rarity in the horrors of the always-online world and to keep up with artists is to actively select your interests.
There is simply too much work and too little time. While there is great fear of missing out on the best of those works, there are some which cement themselves as obvious choices to continue poking around and engaging with. Sloppy Jane gains another exceptional track, a booming and brilliant summary of fear in the modern world and a longing for past simplicities. Claw Machine lingers as a fine piece of work which can only get better once the dust has settled and we can truly reflect on the prose and power of natural shifts from tight piano to booming orchestras. These are the experiences which move in subtle and wonderful ways.
