Jesu: Pale Sketches Demixed by Pale Sketcher
LABEL: Ghostly International

Justin Broadrick always seems to be at the top of his game when he turns expectations on their heads. He did it in 1989 by abandoning his thrash beginnings and fusing slow post-punk with metal dirges on Godflesh’s pioneering Streetcleaner, then again when he threw dub and hip-hop elements into the mix on Songs of Love and Hate. In 2005, Jesu’s eponymous debut changed gears completely, shifting from grooved hardcore to sludged shoegaze, creating something new, immense and beautiful. This summer, Broadrick adds to this list with his first release on Ghostly International, an electronic re-interpretation of Jesu’s Pale Sketches album.

“Demixed is stumbling in new territory for Broadrick, and his naivete with this new language yields fresh and intriguing results.”

Broadrick’s signature heavy guitars are dropped for an all electronic (or at least electronically manipulated) outing with Pale Sketcher. The sound carries a heavy element of shoegaze intact from earlier Jesu releases, creating similar dronescapes with synthesizers as he does with guitars. On this album, however, Broadrick adds more elements of melodic ambiance and textural change. It’s too song-oriented to fit into dub, and too heavy to be easily categorized as electronic. It’s an individual oddity, closely resembling label-mates Syntaks, but with more focus and less instrumentation.

This release comes on the heels of Jesu’s less-than-stellar attempt at straight shoegaze, Opiate Sun. Whereas that EP fell lifeless in treading old ground, Demixed is stumbling in new territory for Broadrick, and his naivete with this new language yields fresh and intriguing results. Beautiful, adventurous, and perfectly structured, Demixed holds its own next to the best albums in Broadrick’s extensive discography, all the while sounding drastically different from any of them.

Apparently Broadrick has found Jesu drifting further from his solidified guitar territory into electronics, and has decided to separate the two sonic worlds by the addition of the Pale Sketcher project. It’s unfortunate, as Pale Sketcher is much more exciting and forward-thinking than anything he’s done since Jesu’s first album.


REVIEWED BY NEIL LEVENS
NEIL’S FAVORITE TRACKS: “Tiny Universe (Interstellar)” • “Wash It All Away (Cleansed Dub)” • “Plans That Fade (Faded Dub)”
Neil’s email: neil@groovemine.com


FREE MP3: “Can I Go Now (Gone Version)” by Pale Sketcher
FREE MP3: “Can I Go Now (Gone Version) [Donnacha Costello Remix]” by Pale Sketcher