There comes a point in every music writer’s life when they are faced with a solitary daunting task that challenges their very core. For some, it’s coming up with that one descriptor that’s going to perfectly capture an album’s essence. For others, it’s letting go of some long-held musical pretense that will enable their taste and writing to evolve naturally to its next phase. For many, it’s writing about Radiohead. For this guy, it’s writing about Jesu. I mean is there really something that can be said to make J. Broadrick’s newest incarnation sound interesting? No offense to you fans out there, and honestly I don’t think the music is half bad (honestly), but come on, you gotta admit it’s as boring as this year’s Oscars. Trust me, the press release on this provided little help in the “intensity” department.
In any case, on May 10, Jesu will be releasing a full-length titled Ascension on Mark Kozelek’s Caldo Verde record label. The aforementioned press release states that this will be “the first traditional release since 2007,” whatever that means. It then goes on to describe the album as being “more like a weather pattern than a piece of music.” Seriously, people are getting paid to do this?
• Jesu: http://www.avalancheinc.co.uk/jesu.html
• Caldo Verde: http://www.caldoverderecords.com
