As unbelievable as it may sound Lifeline is Jesu's fifth (and possibly the sixth if Robotic Empire gets the split with Battle of Mice out before the end of 2007) release of the year and comes right on the heals of the Pale Sketches record. With all of this activity and music released in one year, I have two thoughts: 1) I marvel at the sheer volume of music that Jesu has released this year (especially if remixes are taken into account); and 2) I question how Broadrick writes so much music that seems to be of high quality.
Lifeline continues the perceivable trajectory of Jesu's sound; the title track is more of the mellow music that includes heavily electronic treatments and keyboards with Broadrick's conversational vocal tone. It also has an effective harmony vocal that adds a real nice touch to the sound while the guitars and synthesizers weave in and out and together to create an atmospheric sound quality. "You Wear Their Masks" picks up the tempo from the melancholic pace that the title track utilizes; like that song, "You Wear Their Masks" is laden with synthesizer but has a warmer tone to go along with the quicker tempo which makes for an almost upbeat sounding track. Lifeline closes out on the more organic sound of "End of the Road" (also an apt title for the last song on the EP), and it serves as a nice contrast to the other songs on the record; it stands a real mellow track as well but not in the gloomy sense that the title track of the EP does, but rather this song kind of sounds like the state of being mood medicated (if there was a sound for that). The music is exceedingly thick sounding at as Broadrick jams as much sound into the space as possible, even when the track gets quieter.
Jarboe (of Swans and World of Skin as well as a collaborator with Neurosis) provides a polarizing guest appearance as she handles the full vocal arrangement on "Storm Comin' On" by adding her expressive vocal style to what is easily the heaviest song on the EP; the song, although musically very much in line with past Jesu efforts, has a very different feel due to Jarboe's contribution. The higher register vocals that she uses fit will with the bouncing rhythm of the music; but, at times, her vocals just seem to miss and really take away from the song. What is sure to make this song even more polarizing is the decision by Jesu to include a Jarboe-less version of the song, called "Decide", on the Japanese version of Lifeline. It is interesting to listen to the two different versions of the song and compare the two. "Decide" is just as heavy sounding as its companion track, but it is almost completely instrumental save for a few subtle vocal treatments from Broadrick. I think that both versions of the song have some great parts and that it is neat to hear the two versions of the song.
How does Jesu top what it has been doing? Where do they go from here? Do they continue on a seemingly linear progression or do they possibly expand on what they are doing in some way? Lifeline does not completely answer these questions. But, it does hint at certain avenues that Jesu's music could go in the future. Overall, I think Justin Broadrick and company are getting better at utilizing keyboards and synthesizers to create a soothing atmosphere in their song arrangements, and Lifeline illustrates that point very well. Also, Broadrick's vocal performances seem to be getting more melodic, stronger, and more self-assured with each release. On its own, I really enjoy it a great deal. I also am still struggling with where to place this record in the Jesu discography and find that it is a difficult proposition to insularly view the EP, particularly since this is the fifth release by them this year. On a side note, I mentioned that the Japanese release, on Daymare again, has extra tracks; the two bonus songs on that version of the release are "Decide" and an alternate version of "Lifeline." Regardless, Lifeline is a worthwhile release, and the one of the reasons why many people may question how good this is may be because we are seeing so many records from Jesu this year.
