Search - Jessamine, E.a.R. :: Living Sound

A hive of drones

Stargrazer | deep in the heart of Michigan | 04/12/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Jessamine's last release is in fact an archival live date from 1996, and a collaboration with Sonic Boom from Spacemen 3. While their full length albums got poppier and more structured, this live improvisational drone-fest is the antithesis of those. Jessamine, during their unfortunately short lifespan, created a wide and deep catalog of music, and this is the deep end of the pool. Although it is divided into tracks, it is essentially one long piece of guitar drone and feedback, keyboard texturing, theremin howling and the occasional swoosh or bleep of unexpected sound amongst open drumming. The first time I spun this disc, there was some nature documentary on TV with long helicopter-pans of mountainsides and glaciers. With the TV sound muted, it was glorious. The second spin, I put it on random just to be perverse -- and found that it nearly retained its cohesion! No one in the band tries to outplay the others. Each adds to the sonic texture and intense, nearly meditative mood. The more I listen, the more I find. This is an alien terrain, but one that yields beautiful and mysterious artifacts. If you have a taste for the avant-garde, soundscapes, or experimental ambience, and are not hung up on pop music conventions, I recommend this heartily. The silver-embossed, vellum-wrapped packaging is also nice, if you like that design thing. A head-trip for sure. Choose your companions wisely."