I’ve got everything jesu has ever done. And listen to every last bit of it on a quite regular basis (much to my woman’s dismay)… And I would have to agree with some of what I’ve seen here and stand completely opposite on some of it.
In order of best to worst (while worst isn’t bad, it’s just not as good as the rest)…
Heart Ache is by far the best thing Jesu has ever done. And it shows. 2 20 minute epics that shatter your world, rebuild you and throw you through the glass again. JKB at his best. When I heard this I quit being despondant about the death of Godflesh and REALLy embraced the idea of Jesu.
I would follow that up with the Sundown/Sunrise EP. A very similiar experience. It’s not for everyone from what I can tell as it has a much more mellow drone to it but it’s absolutely breathtaking as far as musically. Another thing that I really enjoyed here is the LACK of lyrics. It’s not cluttered with a bunch of shite. It’s got like 6 lines for a 20 minute song and even that’s contained to one spot in the songs. Perfect!
Silver is awesome beyond belief. And the extra tracks on it just make it that much better (LOVE the Wolves remix). There is also another remix of Your Path To Divinity that came out around the time this did (the WTUL remix) that should have been put on here, but hey… Can’t have it all. Quite easily their most mainstream sounding stuff while not straying far off and alienating what we have come to love as Jesu.
Pale Sketches is AMAZING. Love the interludes and the use of sampling and all the great layering done on this album. Some of these tracks are enough to make you want to kill yourself (and love yourself for doing it)… Tracks like Can I Go Now? make this album beautiful and truly touching.
Lifeline is a good, solid effort but it’s where the bands material really starts to show it’s weaknesses. I really like this album, especially You Wear Their Masks and Storm Coming On (with Jarboe). Great effort but it sounds a bit tired in my opinion.
Conqueror is a great album but it is kind of watered down and you can tell that they went more like a band rather than just giving JKB total control like he needs with this project. While not a great album it definately has a few tracks on it that are striking. I would vote for Transfigure, Weightless & Horizontal, and Stanlow to be in any setlist.
The various splits and other EP’s are just like filler stuff to me. The songs with Eluvium and Battle Of Mice and the little things like Why Are We Not Perfect and such are ok but lack the musical exploration I’ve come to love from Jesu. And that’s that.
The self titled album is arguably their worst album. It’s by no means bad. I listen to it from time to time but it’s my least favorite. I hear this album and immediately drone out and start loathing everything about life (which is probably the point). BUT, on a redeeming note songs like Sun Day and Your Path To Divinity are brilliant and will always be great to hear.
