A1 Jesu - Farewell (6:28)
A2 Jesu - Blind & Faithless (3:31)
A3 Jesu - Why Are We Not Perfect? (6:43)
B1 Eluvium - Time-Travel Of The Sloth Parts I, II, & III (19:46)
...ce split permet la collaboration entre Jesu et Eluvium. Ce dernier est un projet electro/ambient, mené depuis 2003 par l'américain Matthew Cooper. On trouve au total trois chansons de Jesu, pour une seule d'Eluvium.
Ce split est tout simplement impressionnant. Tout débute par "Farewell" qui est un véritable hit dont seul Broaderick a le secret. Entre force et douceur, la mélancolie des nappes se noie dans un tourbillon sonique. On peut songer au pauvre Kevin Shields qui aimerait tant pouvoir recomposer des chansons de ce niveau. L'instrumentale "Blind & Faithless" à la ligne de basse entraînante passe bien trop vite. "Why Are We Not Perfect" emmène Jesu vers le downtempo. Le rythme lourd se marie parfaitement au chant limpide de Broderick. La partie finale est magnifique avec l'arrivée des guitares saturées.
Eluvium vient clôturer ce split par presque vingt minutes de nappes apaisantes comme pour méditer sur les bienfaits d'une telle collaboration.
XSilenceThis is a record I've been waiting for pretty much since the first whispers of it bubbled up on one internet forum or another. At first I was slightly puzzled, in one corner we have Justin Broadrick, founder member of Napalm Death and Godflesh and all round metal deity, then in the other corner we have Portland's Matthew Cooper, purveyor of some of the most blissful hazy ambience and post-classical experimentation you're likely to hear. It could be a strange pairing, but then in recent years Broadrick has progressively stripped the metallic crunch from his productions (now under the Jesu moniker) and begun to lean more and more into the world of Thames Valley shoegaze. Some might call it nu-gaze (isn't everything 'nu' these days?) but by harnessing the power of My Bloody Valentine, Ride and Lush, Broadrick has smudged his earlier post-industrial metal into something a little more jubilant and a little more enjoyable. Even those of you familiar with Broadrick's earlier Jesu material might be surprised at the three tracks on this split LP. Although his work has been getting progressively 'popier' since the release of the earth-shattering 'Silver' EP a couple of years back, this is possibly his least metal record to date and at times sounds like it wouldn't have been out of place on Morr Music's genre defining compilation 'Blue Skied and Clear'. We open on 'Farewell' with its verse/chorus/verse structure and a slice of pure pop - all reverberating chords, carefully programmed drum machines and Broadrick's keen sense of sound engineering adding that unmistakable gloss. However it's with the side's second piece that the record really gets into its stride; 'Blind & Faithless' takes Ulrich Schnauss' template (breakbeats, synthesizers) injected with enough humanity and style to leave you with a piece of music totally out on its own. It might only be short, but its brevity only serves to leave you gasping for more. This in itself should surely be enough to demand the asking price, but then we flip the record over and are treated to one expansive piece from Eluvium, this time seeing Matthew Cooper in collaboration with Temporary Residence boss man Jeremy deVine. The two manage to conjure a simply peerless haze of gaseous synthesized harmony, drifting environmental recordings and Cooper's signature lilting piano melodies (last heard on his excellent 'Copia' album). In just one track Cooper seems to have distilled his entire catalogue and has created a piece you can lose yourself in totally, and like all the best ambient producers refuses to let it sink into the background. What initially could have been an odd pairing of acts ends up becoming one of the most hazy, genuinely well-meaning collections of dream pop I've heard this year, and I'd expect it to be nudging into the upper regions of many an end of year chart in a few months time. Apparently the record is already sold out at the source so you'd better act fast if you want to bag one of these beauties. Highly Recommended!
Boomkat
buytry
