Customer Reviews

Like Love Lust & The Open Halls of the Soul

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

The breathy, masculine voice of Jesse Sykes has a way of making my hair stand on end. This album in particular has a spooky tone which haunts and intruiges me. This band has a fairly unique way of merging country "Americana" with a folk-pop accessibilty. The songs are dark, and yet you find yourself tapping your feet. "I Like the Sound", one of the catchier cuts from this album, reminds me of the best elements of the Mamas and the Papas, while he haunting sounds of "Spectral Beings" brngs to mind coming down with Pink Floyd. "How Will We Know?" is reminiscent of (of all things) the Grateful Dead. For full effect, I recommend you experience this album on a Sunday morning, coming down. Sometimes crisp and desolate, sometimes tender and dreamy, this album certainly satisfies the tastes of this discerning music lover.

Let me start by saying that I think Jesse Sykes has one of the most fascinating voices around (think a middle-aged Marianne Faithfull), and that I loved her album "Oh My Girl". But I have to say that the energy from that record is painfully lacking here. The songs are good, in some cases outstanding, but they often fade into boring, forgetable vamps that all blend together to make one sluggish piece of music by the end. I whole-heartedly recomend her live show; in it she shows that she can in fact sing the ballads...but she can do a little western boogie just as good.

Wow, I wasn't expecting this. Sometimes surprises are better than expectations anyway. I first heard Jesse Sykes on the Sunn O))) and Boris "Altar" album and instantly loved her voice. I mostly listen to metal, hard rock and music most people would describe as "weird". Certainly NOT country or (gasp!) folk. This reminds me of a female Bob Dylan. The lyrics aren't necessarily complex, but they knock you upside your head when you least expect it. Sykes' voice is unique and stunning. She can be forceful and wounded, often in the same verse. The music ranges from country-ish rock to slow acoustic with great production and a warm guitar tone. If all country music was this intelligent and meaningful, I just might trade in my bullet belt for cowboy boots.

Sykes opens this compelling, sometimes spectral disc with a bit of heavy-hearted Neil Young harmonica and acoustic guitar framing her mournful, cigarette-scarred voice. "Is this still a good place to be?" she sings. That sets the tone for an album of questioning lyrics framed in catchy melodies propelled by former Whiskeytowner Phil Wandscher's surprisingly muscular electric guitar.

Sykes is unsure, about her lover, about the present and the future, her voice conveying that uncertainty. "The Air Is Thin" is a captivating ballad with a bit of trumpet while "You Might Walk Away" is an immediate favorite, a straight-ahead pop rocker punctuated by hand claps.

In fact, the disc isn't easily pegged apart from Sykes' world weary voice. The arrangements are varied and easily carry you through the 12 tracks, leaving you only to rise from the spell it induces to hit play again.

When I first heard this I thought I was hearing some lost lost album with Melanie Safka jamming with Crazy Horse, and playing some long-lost songs by the Kinks and Small Faces after listening to John Cale and Lou Reed. Of course that's not the case but it's been a nice surprise anyhow! I'm also surprised nobody else has mentioned Melanie as hers is the first voice that sprang to mind - check out Candles in the rain and you'll hear what I mean. Very enjoyable album compentently played with feeling.

I'm a recent convert via "Oh my Girl" and latterly "Reckless Burning". This was not a disappointment - the great voice, great lyrics, great guitar and great MOODINESS are still there but they have matured and moved on - the arrangements are (largely) simpler and subtler. I haven't listened to it enough yet for any song to get inside me like "Dreaming Dead" or "Reckless Burning" but I have no doubt they will.

I've never heard anything from Jesse Sykes before this release, but I have to say that I am pretty impressed. Sometimes it sounds like upbeat pop, other times like Pink Floyd, and maybe even some folk, but it almost always manages to hold on the the dark atmosphere, and Jesse Sykes's raspy voice only adds to the mood.

I'd say this is a good place to go if you're looking for something different and fresh. It doesn't do anything too crazy, so it should be fairly accessible to most people. Even mainstream music listeners should find something to like in this album.

I've been a big fan of Jesse Sykes' brand of mellow psychedelic desert music now for years.

She takes it to new frontiers on "Like love lust..".

Sykes' trademark hypnotic melancholia is still there, but in addition to her signature sound that is anchored by her smoky voice, she and Phil have added a Beatles element to the proceedings this time around on several songs.

Sit back and revel in the jams and subtly psychedelic play of words on several tracks.

Great production by Tucker Martine.

This album, unfortunately, is a bit of a disappointment compared to the two previous albums. More commercial and comparatively over-produced, this album lacks the musical integrity and authenticity of Reckless Burning or Oh, My Girl, and verges on becoming just another well-done country/rock album, indistinguishable from others. Hope this is not the direction the band will continue to take, as if it is, I will satisfy myself with their first two albums and ignore the rest.

From the opening harmonica of Eisenhower Moon it is clear that the third Sweet Hereafter CD will be something special. A timely political song, "Is this still a good place to be? If it feels the same, how will we know if it's breaking down?" Eisenhower referring to the era of McCarthism, and its crackdown on individuality, that the current administration has brought back upon us. Beautiful acoustic guitar.

The title track LLL has as many twists and turns as a sonic Alfred Hitchcock movie. You Might Walk Away is a hand clapping rocker, providing a bit more diversity than the previous two (in their own right magnificent) CDs. Same for I Like the Sound. And of course the trademark haunting ballads are here. Hard Not to Believe and Spectral Beings are in the Reckless Burning mode (in otherwords, fabulous) while Aftermath adds in some tasteful horns. Morning, It Comes and the Open Halls of the Soul complete an exceptional CD. Easily an early candidate and likely favorite for alt-country (or whatever category you choose) CD of the year.

Jesse's voice and lyrics, Phil's guitar. Got tickets to see them open for Sparklehorse in Atlanta. Truly will be a once in a lifetime show. See you there.