Jesu - Silver

I held off on Jesu for a long time.  Due to some bad information, I think I had them pegged in my mind as a cross between like Sleep and Drive Like Jehu - which is not only wrong, but makes no sense.  Fortunately, I bit the bullet one day and listened to their self-titled album.  It was awesome.  While I was listening, I kept thinking, "What the hell, music this heavy has no right to be this good."  But then I remembered how good stuff like Red Sparowes, heavy Mogwai, and other punched-in-the-ear bands can be so great, and I gave myself up to the crackling, ear-splitting roar that is Jesu.  The reason I'm not reviewing that album is because I tend to listen to it all the way through without thinking about it (like while I'm playing SNES games) and I fail to mark any particular songs that impress me individually.  But I've been listening to this EP/Short LP for a while now and, well, I felt like it.

The title song is the classic Jesu sound.  Crunchy guitar assailing you from both channels while slow drums and keyboards back it up.  A good amount of quiet-to-loud moments.  Good, abrasive times.  The second track doesn't fare nearly as well, mainly due to the emo vocals.  There are vocals in other songs, but they don't sound like Dashboard Confessional, so they don't bug me.  The instrumental parts are all right, but you're better off hitting >>.  "Wolves," the next track, sounds like it's going to be a retread of "Silver," but you're wrong - it's 23 seconds longer.  Okay, it is actually different, but it's the same structure with different words, chords, etc - but essentially it's the same.  Which is a good thing.  The final track, "Dead Eyes," is badass.  It's what Mogwai should be sounding like right about now, like Happy Songs For Happy People, but with more balls.  It also drops out completely right in the middle and gives way to a completely uncouth guitar part that sounds like it's being played by a guy with a goat mask on and a pentagram-shaped guitar.

Highly recommended for anyone into accessible noise rock.  And if you're already down with Jesu and haven't heard this EP, go for it, it's definitely worth it.

Here's that last track, "Dead Eyes," by Jesu.

Comments

[hey you]

from digg

hey i just happened on your site and smoeone else said they read a big chunk of it

weell i came here hoping for something good

but overall its just not that attention grabbing

old farts and boring records (a quick scan)

[robosexual sez: welcome to the internet!]

[mcd]

I just bought the most recent LP yesterday - amazing stuff.

[barnaby]

"accessible noise rock"? nice oxymoron, breaux.