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Jesu, "Everyday I Get Closer To The Light From Which I Came"
Of Justin Broadrick's multitude of ongoing projects, Jesu has perhaps been the one in the most constant state of flux. Initially capturing the more introspective side of Godflesh its demise, it soon shifted on electronic pop and then finally back to a shoegaze metal sound. Here, some ten years after its inception, Broadrick has finally unified all of those sounds into a single work.
Much ado has been made about Broadrick recently becoming a father, as well as the reunion of Godflesh as being the impetus for this album, and while to some extent I can see it, it also does not make for a drastic departure from what he has been doing since the very first EP.Perhaps the most significant impact could be that simultaneously writing new Godflesh material has siphoned off some of the metallic aggression that was more prominent on Opiate Sun and the recently completed Dethroned EPs.However, even that guitar sound shows up at one point here.
I will admit that the last album, Ascension, was probably my least favorite Jesu.I would not classify it as bad by any means, but it also just did not really have any stand out moments that stayed with me once the disc ended.Thankfully, Everyday… does not have that problem.The first song, "Homesick," is Jesu by the numbers, and it is all the better for that reason.Stiff, programmed drums, chugging low end rhythm guitar and undistorted guitar melodies atop is the same formula that made "Silver" and "Conqueror" so brilliant, and the result is no different here.Again, Broadrick is one of the few artists who is able to present melancholy so well, without sounding overly mopey or tritely depressing.The vocals on "Homesick" have his emotionally defeated, but still hopeful sound that no one else can do so well.
The title song and "Grey is the Color" are comparatively more basic, but feature the same interplay of instruments, and both emphasize synth string passages that add just the right amount of texture.The tasteful use of keyboards was something I felt that was lacking in the otherwise excellent recent guitar-centric EPs, so I am glad to hear them again.
"The Great Leveller," at 17 minutes, feels like a throwback to the very first Jesu EP Heart Ache or the Sundown/Sunrise record due to both its duration and structure.Also in league with those releases, it is more of a suite of different pieces linked together rather than a single, long-form work.Perhaps the most out of character moment is here is the fact that the song features piano and actual strings.The classical approach does not last, and is quickly supplanted by the heaviest riffing on the album.
The weakest link here is "Comforter," which simply feels like a collage of textures and sounds that never really gels into a fully realized song.There are strong moments and passages to be heard, but it just does not come together as it should.Additionally, there is excessive use of a wobbly, detuning effect on the guitars and synths that Broadrick employs more than preferred throughout the album, but here it is particularly noticeable and problematic.
As far as full length albums go, Everyday… is clearly in the upper echelon of the Jesu discography.I am not sure if I would rank it higher than Conqueror, but the shorter running time and fewer number of songs has presented the amount of filler that plagued other releases.While it is by no means a perfect record, it does perhaps show the greatest amount of variation of any Jesu release to date without feeling unfocused or directionless.I was concerned when the reformation of Godflesh was announced that it would mean the end of this project, so I am very relieved that this clearly is not the case.
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