Is it strange that Jesu is finally releasing something new after a gap of some time longer than two months (a small exaggeration surely)? Infinity is an interesting direction for Justin Broadrick to go considering the trajectory of recent releases under the Jesu moniker, but his publicly proclaimed predilection for EP's and the opportunity for experimentation that they provide explain this record perfectly. Infinity is a single track that traverses more than forty-five minutes (Broadrick vehemently states that this is an EP) to play out over a wide reaching and carefully planned arc to demonstrate all of the tricks of the Jesu trade while introducing a few new ones at the same time seemingly is a likely culmination with brief glimpses of the future for the project.
Infinity is equal parts soaring aural majesty that evokes an emotional response akin to ecstasy or euphoria as well as equal parts sonic brooding that seemingly bring despondent and depressive emotions from the speakers. Whether the music is heavy and discordant or calm and pensive, there is a semblance of an emotional trigger (that has seemingly been absent of the recent Jesu material) brought on by the composition. As the record plays, Jesu tugs at numb mood swings and nudges listeners in different emotional directions with the interesting chord interplays and the organic sounds emanating from the guitars and timely use of "live" drums (played by Broadrick himself this time around). There is one very strong guitar riff that plays while Broadrick sings, "
I don't when you do/ And you don't deserve it / But you won't deny it/ So I cried when you cried
" creating a memorable peak (both aurally and emotionally) within the whole song.
The Japanese import version of Infinity contains a second CD that also contains a single song, this being "Infinity (Part 2 / Re-Interpretation)." This version of "Infinity" is interesting but comes across as a strange jumble with repeating parts that even though it runs at less than half the amount of time as the full version of the song, it seems less cohesive and loses some of its majestic nature.
By now my ability to be completely objective regarding a Jesu release is long since missing, but while I may enjoy each record, my ability to detect excellence and awfulness surely has not diminished in any way. From a fan perspective Infinity represents Broadrick taking a great chance in pushing the Jesu envelope in new directions while still touching on many of the hallmarks that has drawn listeners to the records in the first place. Still, no matter what way that listeners view Infinity, the record is most definitely an achievement in the discography for Jesu. And, if you are a fan, you need to get this record.
