Wavering Radiant - Theme

Theme

Reviewers have discussed the presence of a theme, with Milton Savage deducing that "track titles would imply an underlying conceptual framework to Wavering Radiant, with 'Hall of the Dead' preceding 'Ghost Key', and 'Threshold of Transformation' closing the album in epic circumstances – Turner, it seems, has left our world behind for exploration of another beyond the lives led by mortal men." Isis releases have always had a thematic basis; as Andrew Rennie dissects, "Isis's four previous full-lengths have clear story arcs, but Wavering Radiant's themes are open to interpretation, giving it added appeal." Over time, Turner has become reluctant to divulge the thematic particulars of any given album and on Wavering Radiant he has been equivocal. The act of explaining the thematic basis of an album erodes Turner's "connection" with the music, and he has spoken of how that relationship is something he "wishes to preserve". He also asserts that retaining this synergy with the music allows him to commit more to the album's live performances. Similarly, he has also spoken of how "eople have a tendency to focus on one narrow aspect of the overall concept or misinterpret it."

The symbolism that comes up in dreams and the archetypal things that you discover in the process of self dream-analysis are things that have been recurrent throughout history in tons of different people from all walks of life and from all corners of the globe. So, in that way, it's not only an exploration of self, but an exploration of humanity.

Although reluctant to give any specifics, he has expressed snippets of conceptual background at times; this, however, doesn't extend to the reasoning behind the album's title, which he declined to elaborate upon. When asked to describe the album in three words, he stated that it was a "path of exploration". Bassist Jeff Caxide has revealed that Turner noted Carl Jung as a major influence on the concept and lyrics. Jung's 1961 work, Memories, Dreams, Reflections, served as a specific source of inspiration for Turner, as he noted on his blog in a post preceding the album's release. Beyond Jung, he has spoken of how the album is closely related to dreams, and that he had been keeping a dream journal during the album's compositional phase. He gave up smoking marijuana in 2008, which he says enabled him to remember his dreams more clearly and, according to J. Bennett, "tap into an internal consciousness". All of the album's official lyrics, deemed almost entirely indecipherable, were revealed in celebration of the album's first anniversary.