The Plot Thickens is a compilation album of old and new tracks by American noise rock band The Jonbenét, released on July 26, 2005 via Pluto Records. It was the last release that Chris Goodwin was involved in before Wil Spent replaced him. The first three tracks were from a split with The Kidnap Soundtrack and letter were from Five Stories Retold.
The album was named "Best Heavy Sh*t" by Free Press Houston.[1][2] The Jonbenét was one of the contenders for Best Hardcore/Screamo Band in the Houston Press Music Awards.[3] The band produced a music video for the track "Behold, The White Whore."[4][5]
Background and recording
The band got into a contract with Pluto Records and announced that they'll releasing an 8 song re-release of The Jonbenét's two recent releases, they also announced that they'll be touring.[6] This album is a combination of old songs and new ones. All eight tracks were old songs from previous releases, like The Jonbenét and The Kidnap Soundtrack split and Five Stories Retold. This is evident by the writing style of these songs, as the newer tracks have more complex structures and ornate instrumentation. The older songs are more or less straightforward, both in terms of both structure and composition. Tracks 4-8 were recording in June 2004 and tracks 1-3 were recorded in November 2004 at 7A Studios. Dann Miller did an interview The Hardcore Report.[7]
"Eating Lightning Pt. I" has a sequel on their next release, Ugly/Heartless.
The effort was hit with positive reviews, Justin Donnelly of The Metal Forge was surprised, "chaotic screaming technical post-hardcore (Or whatever name you want to put on this particular style of music) is nothing new these days, especially given the ever increasing number of acts emerging onto the scene rising as the days tick over. The Jonbenét on the other hand actually manage to sound fresh and interesting on The Plot Thickens." Ariana Rock of Exclaim! gave a positive review, they state " the result is a bloody, earth-shattering rocker of an album that you will find yourself absorbed in." They continue with "the urgency of the guitars and vocals is dropped, stumbled over, tossed aside, and thrown into the wind like an old sneaker on a telephone pole, but kid, take a look around because this junk is hotter than the streets of Arizona, with a killer kick drum and a casual look over shoulder style of singing to catch your attention one last time before beating you down when you least expect it."
Brian Shultz of PunkNews.org gave an average rating, stating "these are the Five Stories Retold tracks, and show the band at their most raw but seething with potential. They unfortunately were later disappointed "the first three songs on the disc however in Chapter II that we find the band starting to slide into a more original niche." They were hopeful for the band's future though "if progression can occur this quickly, a more-than-solid debut full-length is certainly in the works from the outfit. Sputnikmusic gave the album a excellent review, they stated that "the first three tracks of this album were newly recorded for the EP, whereas the last five are cleaned up versions of songs from previous works." They finished with "an excellent debut, and it is too bad the band doesn’t get as much attention as they deserve." Cory of Lambgoat was pleased by the effort, they called it "a surprisingly creative and adept entry into the ever-growing field of bands playing non-conventional hardcore." They mention "the frantic energy of the Jonbenet, coupled with their songwriting ability, makes this a difficult disc to stop listening to."
Free Press Houston was very impressed, they noted "a rhythm section that will put you in the rafters and bang you 'til the blood runs to your temples, and vocals that spit nails." They end the praise with "If you want something to drive really fucking fast to, or a good mental sound track to curse out your teacher to, pick up The Plot Thickens." The album was later named "Best Heavy Sh*t" by Free Press Houston.[2] Neufutur Magazine was optimistic for the future of the band "by the time that “Behold, The White Whore” comes out it becomes fairly obvious that The Jonbenet have taken the brief glimpses into a more hopeful future for noise."
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