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It’s rare that a voice comes along on MySpace that’s truly unique. Precedents exist for the UK’s Asbestoscape – the cinematic sweep of Mogwai, the hoover synths of drum ‘n’ bass, the glitchy drums of electronic music five years ago (Tipper comes to mind). But this one-man act is identifiable within seconds after each track starts. Most artists don’t have this quality. Something in the melodies, their simplicity and sadness. Something in the drums, their solidity yet tetchiness. Here is someone who’s synthesized the last 10 years of music into an intensely personal whole. These are seven mini-soundtracks, fully-formed yet potentially endless. “Return” is dark, gleaming, patient, as if Ulver remixed Damnation-era Opeth. “Arctic” plods through Weezer-esque drums, building layers upon layers of Cure and Cocteau Twins guitars. Six-strings hum and glow as a massive edifice – only to fade away. Sweet dreams are made of this. Jesu who?
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Oh, this is good, alright. Something about the deliberate pace of those drums that makes it so foreboding. Thanks for the tip!
is the “Jesu who?” bit called for though? Not to say that Jesu is my favorite band ever and I cry when people say mean things about them but because I recall when Jesu were a critics darling and people were extremely excited for every EP they put out every 6 months. What happened from then to here? Is there something to be said about the transient (here comes a bad word:) trends that dictate what is worthwhile even in this scene? I thought great Heavy Metal was forever.
More importantly, are these bands in competition? Is it healthy to look at artists doing their thing as if they’re competing for some spot in the reviwer’s CD tray?
Perhaps great music’s actual emotional merit (though not relevance) is best discussed independently of background and scene.
Given the homogeneity of sound today caused by excessively low bars (MySpace, cheap recording technology) for bands to exist, and the fact that my backlog of new releases has reached triple digits (a situation that’s likely true for many reviewers), yes, bands are in competition for my ears. They always are. Every minute I am listening to one thing, I could be listening to another. The direction of Jesu in recent years has moved it away from “great” and “heavy metal” and placed it in roughly the same sonic space as this.
Alright. Thanks for the reply.
Man, what a great post/review. Thoroughly enticing and informative but not too long. Gonna check this out for sure.
So simple. So good. Totally scratches an itch I didn’t know I had. Like Nadja or The Angelic Process, only with Slint’s deliberateness instead of the Swans’ obdurate gloom.
Thanks, Cosmo!
Sounds wonderful, thanks for sharing this. I do wish, though, that I knew what forrest was talking about with his references. There’s always so much to learn!
Paris – everything Forrest mentioned is an essential touchstone. Check them all out; then thank him.
Thanks in advance to Forrest indeed! But it hard to keep up, between you, Lo-Res, Cosmic Hearse, Svartstoy, etc. I am deeply indebted to you all!
Bought this from CD Baby and from start to finish this is an album and a band that has gone above and beyond to create what we want to hear rather than trying to “out do” everything else. This is as truly music for fans of music and not another exercise in acrobatics or self-indulgent drone.