Dusted Reviews
Artist: Jesus With Me Album: Jesus With Me Label: Psych-o-Path Review date: Aug. 31, 2005 |
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Jesus With Me purportedly decided upon their name because of a quest to “reach to the Higher Spirit” with their music. Successful or not, the foursome certainly raised a holy din. This self-titled album, a posthumous debut, contains two of Jesus With Me’s open-ended jams – crowded squalls that are relentless, for better and worse.
Jesus With Me consists of two long tracks of consistent pedigree; dense improvisations that begin in the red and never falter. Simon Kopelnitsky and Eduard Kleyner shred in full-on distorted ecstasy, while Igor Vlasov’s bass provides a solid anchor, more so than Dmitry Venediktov’s rather haphazard drumming. He sometimes struggles to hit upon a steady rhythm, and compared to his compatriots, finds far less creative ways to stretch out his playing over the two long jams.
It’s hard to argue with Jesus With Me’s veracity. Their music never lacks energy or fire, but it seems, at times, they play with such abandon that it affects the music adversely. Their behemoth of a sound lumbers without great purpose, and while such directionless exploration can be a facilitator of great things, Jesus With Me often fall prey to the more mundane side of such an approach. When lost in the storm, all of the thunder is impressive, but there’s a big difference between having power and harnessing it, and on this disc, Jesus With Me rarely do both.
By Adam Strohm
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