Terminus - Jesu: Review
is the solo project of British musician and genre blender Justin Broadrick. It followed his pioneering experimental metal band Godflesh and took things in a different direction combining droning guitars with more conventional songwriting and lead vocals.
Review By Lavender:
While I'm too young to have been able to appreciate Godflesh in their heyday I have spent a lot of time indulging with Jesu over the past decade plus. Whether it was with great albums like Conqueror and Jesu, the pair of wonderful collaborative albums Justin made with Sun Kil Moon or the Before EP he released this year that is still one of my favorite short form projects of 2020, I really enjoy the music of Jesu. While this is technically the 6th Jesu album the catalog runs extensively beyond this and would take far too long for me to unpack every part of it but what I will say is that as far as recent memory goes, Justin is on a hot streak ad Terminus mostly keeps that up.
The record is only 8 tracks long and we got a taste of it when the first two songs were released as singles over the last two months. When I Was Small is the opener and lead single that kicks off with a droney intro and layers of guitars before settling into something a little more comfortable. The song sports emotional lead vocals and a steady drum beat, both of which appear frequently on the albums shorter tracks. It's a hazy but impactful blend of emotion with noise that serves as a solid introduction to the record. I wasn't quite as smitten with Alone one of the poppier Jesu cuts I've ever heard with sugary lead vocals and a chorus of harmonious backings. The guitars channel some shoegaze style tones and the track is more conventionally structured than others here. While the intrinsic drama it presents helps make up for the lack of heaviness I don't necessarily consider it a highlight.
My favorite songs on the record didn't even up being the singles however as it gets better from here on out starting with the harrowing 10 minute title track. Lyrically I think this serves as the albums thesis statement alongside long droning passages that are closer to slowcore than ambient as they wail away with a definitive life that makes them impossible to ignore. The song is unafraid to be loud but unmistakably meaningful and breezes by with a wonderful use of its runtime. Sleeping In follows this with another long track pushing well over 8 minutes. It starts off with a quieter long drawn out build up before introducing some absolutely pounding percussion backing Justin's surprisingly frontal vocals. The track has an explosive rise and a number of memorable refrains during its runtime culminating in a quiet fade out. While there isn't one moment in particular that blows me away I do like the final product as a whole.
Don't Wake Me Up is split almost perfectly down the middle into two separate parts but I enjoy them both. The first half is a more conventionally structured piece with a charming and emotionally rich hook like refrain. The second half is even better with a loud but somber instrumental passage pairing sloppily strummed guitars wish walls of angelic bliss for one of the records most sonically unique moments. Give Up is the closing track and it opens up with a tight instrumental that somehow honestly sounds like something out of a cool 90's spy movie. Of course it gets stretched out and completely dismayed beyond recognition as the keys start to become dissonant and the guitars blur between chords. It isn't the ending I expected but it's another really cool moment that closes the album off.
The record does hit a snag in the second half but it's short-lived. Consciousness is probably my least favorite song here because I think the result is incredibly low impact. The pulsating synths absolutely dominate the entire track to the point where everything else including the already light vocals just feel like background noise. I could see a version of this song I liked more but as is I just find myself fighting to hear all of its elements. Disintegrating Wings is better although it gets off to a slow start with a build that feels like every second of the tracks first 3 minutes. Thankfully once the roaring guitars come in the track rounds out and I like the way they sound alongside the icy keys for a much improved final few minutes.
Terminus is pretty good despite a slip up here and there. Once again Justin Broadrick manages to keep a heavy and impactful instrumental presence across these tracks while also infusing them with emotionally potent vocals and lyrics. The result is something distinctly Jesu and an experience that any fans of drone, shoegaze or slowcore should definitely have in 2020. Whatever Justin does going forward he has more than proven himself and his capabilities and I will be right there waiting for him. 7.5/10
Album Cover Review By Tyler Judson:
There isn't much to critique as it's so simple and exactly what you see. While I think it's striking it doesn't stimulate me enough for a cover and I've seen a lot of that this year. You need to ask if the image is going to leave a lasting impression with people even if they don't know it's an album cover, ad I don't think it would. 3/10
For more experimental music read my review of Uboa's Flesh Of The World EP here
