In the current age of streaming music and playlists, have we lost the album as an art form? Singer-songwriter Janani K. Jha’s “The Rest of The Laurels” would beg to differ.
Released on Dec. 6, 2024, the album is an ambitious concept. Each song draws inspiration from myths in the Greco-Roman canon, as well as weaving together to form the story of the accompanying novella, “Katathon.” For someone who has a continuing interest in storytelling that plays with Greco-Roman mythology, this album is littered with lyrical allusions to myths like the fall of Icarus, Paris choosing who to give the golden apple to and the Minotaur, making it exciting to analyze as well as listen to.
While I enjoyed the entire album immensely, the standout tracks for me are the songs “Royal We” and “Weird Hills.” The concept of “Royal We” comes from the days of the monarchy in which the ruling class would often speak for the many. Jha takes this and spins it into a haunting track inspired by the goddess of marriage, Hera. With lyrics such as, “I used to speak for me/but now I use the royal We,” the story the song tells is one of losing oneself in a toxic relationship, which if you are familiar with the mythological canon, is what happens to how the audience perceives Hera. The stories told of her are ones of the jealous wife, of the goddess of marriage whose husband is not faithful to her. Her identity does not become her own and is instead always attached to her relationship with Zeus.
My other standout, “Weird Hills,” spins a tale of betrayal, focusing less on a romantic relationship and instead on the pain that comes from a friendship breakup. (Note: As all good songs do, the song leaves room for many interpretations of this piece, but the initial inspiration is one of a platonic nature). The song speaks of complex feelings regarding broken friendships, highlighting lyrics such as, “Do you think Caesar misses Brutus somewhere down in hell/Do you think Jesus thinks of Judas but still can’t wish him well.” The driving instrumentals on this track are some of my favorites on the album.
Now, if that weren’t an incredible feat of storytelling in and of itself, Jha has penned a companion piece, “Katathon” (Katathon: a mash-up of the Greek word for a journey into the Underworld, Katabasis, and the suffix for a competition, -thon). If you are like me, a fan of both “The Hunger Games” and “Percy Jackson,” this story is tailor-made for you. The novel follows Asha, a competitor in a national competition taking place in the nine levels of hell from Dante’s “Inferno.” Each chapter of the story is titled off of a track from the album and while they can both be enjoyed separately, the storytelling of both pieces works in tandem with each other bringing new depth to the songs and providing a soundscape for experiencing the world that the novella takes place in. It truly is a triumph of storytelling and I can’t wait to see what comes next.
The views expressed are those of the writer and do not necessarily reflect those of The Torch.
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