This is a nice record. It was the third purchase in the Tuesday-record-from-Spillers year and I didn't really know a lot about Jesu at the time. I think I knew Justin Broadrick had been in Godflesh but Jesu's sound was more along the lines of heavy-ambient-showgaze, which sounded very appealing. As ever, the sticker on the front telling me about the colour vinyl enticed me further (the packaging here is lovely and the last photo shows what a great colour the record is).
Lifeline is definitely an EP rather than an album, but that does seem to be the format Justin works best with. I've since bought a couple of Jesu full-length albums and, whilst they have their moments, they're generally just too long and I get a little lost. Here though, the nice subtle parts don't disappear in a 70-minute sprawl and you're left with four great songs. Side A comprises the very slow title track and the comparatively heavier You Wear Their Masks. Jarboe's vocals on Storm Coming On are perfect (a song that sounds like it's actually going to make it storm) and allows the riff that starts End of the Road to bring you back to life. I can't think of another riff so slow yet so triumphant at the same time. End of the Road really closes the record brilliantly.
Jesu have a fairly lengthy back-catalogue and I probably spent too long seeking out their albums when the EPs seem to be where it's at (an opinion I've seen echoed across the internet). His records aren't the easiest to stumble across in record stores in the UK, and generally aren't cheap, but if the other EPs are as good as this they'll be worth it.
Format: 12", picture sleeve
Tracks: 4
Cost: £10.50
Bought: Spillers
When: 22/01/08
Colour: Gold with black splatter
Etching: none
mp3s: no
