Hydra Head Records
2007
Lifeline
About This Album
If observing Justin Broadrick's recorded history is any indication of being to predict his musical future, this fifth release -- four EPs and a full-length -- by his Jesu project may be rounding the bend toward something else; then again, he's never been entirely predictable. One of the great hilarities of this four-song, 23-minute slab is its great irony. Broadrick takes credit for playing all the instruments, doing all the programming, and singing all the vocals here. But then he lists in his credits that on the set's best cut, "Storm Comin' Out," that Ted Parsons played drums, Jarboe sang, and the bowed bass was played by Diarmuid Dalton. What's more, this cut is easily the one cut in the Jesu discography that's different from all the rest. Jarboe has never been so seductive, sweet, or dangerous as she is here. Broadrick's lilting melodies, comprised of two of three chords, seem to bring something out of her that drips with a wider, softer emotional palette than she's shown for quite some time. But appearances can be deceiving. The truth is it's always been there, but Jarboe has been so focused on letting certain emotions and aesthetic concerns out on her own records that here her gorgeous lyrics and the relative restraint of her astonishing vocal range actually lend themselves to the tremendous emotional depth on this track.
Track List (try tracks 1,2 and 3)

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