Review
Jasper TX
An Index Of Failure

Handmade Birds (2013) Bob

Jasper TX – An Index Of Failure cover artwork
Jasper TX – An Index Of Failure — Handmade Birds, 2013


I cannot explain how much I needed to listen to this right at this moment when my heart rate is racing and it feels as if my chest is going to explode, the calming feeling that the final recordings of Jasper TX are literally helping me to breath semi normally; An Index Of Failure is quite simply a pretty album and a feather in the cap for the project as Jasper TX has announced that this would be the final recording that would be released under the moniker, which is a bit shocking considering how good this record is (as well as the last album, Black Sun Transmission for that matter).

Often times when listening to a record such as An Index Of Failure, the sparse beauty can sometimes be rather overwhelming; but at this moment while drinking coffee amidst a panic attack (yes, I realize that this in it of itself is ridiculous considering coffee can increase anxiety but back off it is what I do), Jasper TX is bringing me down off of the metaphorical cliff with the tremendous sounds of “Rivers Flow” and rooting my feet in the moist soil of any stream in the world… the birds are chirping… the sun is shining through the trees… the breeze is gentle… I am at peace. Describing just how Jasper TX conjures up such serene and vivid imagery seems as though the process makes a song like “Rivers Flow” or “A New Language” seem utterly pedestrian when in reality these ambient works of art are anything but, and this is only so evident when your emotional state is at its most receptive to be inundated with the subtle melodies and gentle tender sounds that inhabit An Index Of Failure.

Seriously (and I mean this), there is a soothing effect that An Index Of Failure seemingly exudes that speaks to me in a profound way; and I cannot say that you would feel the same way if you listened to this record, but there is more than a shot that this final album from Jasper TX just might hold some similar relevant hold on you the way that it has me as I feel both a calm from the music and a deep sadness in part that this is the last album from the project but what a hell of a way to close this artistic statement.

8.0 / 10Bob • July 1, 2013

Jasper TX – An Index Of Failure cover artwork
Jasper TX – An Index Of Failure — Handmade Birds, 2013

Recently-posted album reviews

Sexfaces

Bad Vibes OST
Slovenly (2025)

Best thing about writing reviews is finding out about new stuff that I otherwise might not have heard. Also writing reviews for bands that aren’t friends of mine is pretty cool but when I hear a band I really like, like Sex Faces, it makes me want to be friends with them, I can't help it! I’m not even halfway … Read more

Unseemlier

I Have A Screw Loose, Somewhere
Sell The Heart Records (2025)

What does Unseemlier sound like? I've been mulling that question as I listen to I Have A Screw Loose, Somewhere for a while now. As I listen to more and more Sell The Heart releases, The band is from Boston, but seemingly influenced by late '80s DC. It's heavy, but more with hardcore-like vocals shouted over moving, building guitars and … Read more

Personality Cult

Dilated
Dirtnap (2025)

I had a hard time starting this review. I can’t help coming back to the fact that it sounds like Marked Men. It does, maybe intentionally so, as Dilated is the second of Personality Cult’s albums that is produced by Jeff Burke of Marked Men and Radioactivity. But I don’t necessarily like to say a band sounds like another band … Read more