Jesu : Lifeline EP
The following is a transcribed conversation between my adult brain and my inner child…
This year, 2007, was not a good year for me. Besides getting divorced, I languished in a dead-end retail job, had a possible new romantic relationship completely implode on me and had to endure the likes of a bunch of bad films such as 300 and Transformers. I’d just as soon get on to 2008 for the most part, but 2007 did have some bright spots, especially musically. For one, there was a band whose album I reviewed, and whom I saw live at this year’s SXSW…
Oh yeah! They were so awesome! It was totally the loudest show I had ever been to. And even though I wore earplugs, it was still the loudest! And, it was so loud, that people’s eardrums started to `splode, and goo was dripping out of their ears, but the music was so good, that they stayed…
Well, I’m sure that didn’t happen, but the band is called Jesu, which is the Latinate term for Jesus.
Nuh-uh, dude. That would be “Esus-Jay.”
Ahem, anyway, Justin Broadrick, the man behind Jesu, created one of the year’s most memorable albums in Conqueror, a collection of songs awash in post-metal guitar crunching and droning that can tend to make Kevin Shields sound like Belle & Sebastian.
Stop saying all these names and stuff that people don’t recognize, dude. Just talk about how this band kicks ass! They’re loud and fun and stuff and they come from England and you can’t make out a word they say…
Well, actually with their new EP release, Lifeline, you actually can make out lyrics for one of the first times ever. This is Jesu’s fourth EP, whose format lends itself well to Broadrick’s style. When your epic guitar rock compositions extend to six and seven minutes each, it’s easier to digest in smaller servings. Lifeline differs from Jesu’s former releases in that it tends more toward the post-rock than the post-metal, more toward the melodic than the monumentally loud. One of the best examples of this is in the track, “Storm Comin’ On,” featuring Jarboe, formerly of the influential group Swans, on vocals.
Yeah, dude. That girl sounds awesome! The song is way more mellow than most stuff by Jesu, but I totally like it! There’s still something scary about it, but in a good way, like how you like to watch The Shining over and over even though you know what’s coming. That hallway with the girls still freaks you out!
Yes, well, that’s one way to put it. Anyway, the songs on Lifeline have far more of a meditative and dreamy quality, providing yet another facet to Jesu. And yes, even on this (somewhat) departure of an EP, Broadrick can still bring the aural assault. So, Jesu fans, don’t despair. In fact, there’s enough crunch on “End of the Road” alond to banish the soggies forever.
Yeah, dude! Cereal references rock!
Similar Albums:
My Bloody Valentine- Isn’t Anything
Red Sparrowes- At the Soundless Dawn
Kinski- Down Below It’s Chaos
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