Jesu's Silver gives fans four songs and four sides of his personality, perhaps the opposite of his self-titled debut LP, eleven variations of a single style. Jesu's sound is easy to describe, but must be heard to be appreciated; extremely slow tempos, thunderous chords, heady high-range electronics, and bizarrely graceful singing. Silver isn't going to be mistaken for anyone else's work, but Jesu takes this template to new levels on Silver. Let's examine, shall we? "Wolves" is the sole track that sounds ripped from the same book as the debut. Of course, there's nothing wrong with that, and the song is great; it's just not too different. The last track, "Dead Eyes," dissects Jesu's sound. Mostly ambient, it sounds like the isolated high end of his: songs only adding the trademark thunder in their final moments. "Stars" is the biggest curveball, speeding the tempo up to... my god... moderate rock. It still hits as hard, but it could almost be a doom-pop song. "Silver," appropriately titular, is my personal favorite. It doesn't really change Jesu's sound, but it is a leap forward in songwriting. Its epic chord shifts seemed a bit overly dramatic on the first couple of spins, but eventually the song burrowed itself into my brain. Using a linear progression of three chord changes, slowed down to move over the course of nearly seven minutes, Jesu has delivered one of the most poignant songs I've heard this year. Although an EP, Silver lasts nearly 30 minutes, so don't worry consumers; you'll get your money's worth. So, do take the time to take a trip to doom-pop heaven.
1. Silver
2. Stars
3. Wolves
4. Dead Eyes
More about: Jesu
