Jeudah

While We Sleep

Written by: PP on 16/10/2011 05:35:26

It's impressive what a set of amazing pipes can do to a band. Jeudah, from Sweden, consists of only two members, Jan Jämte on vocals (Khoma) and Kristian Karlsson (pg.lost) on instruments. They use guitar on only two songs (according to promo material), yet their soundscapes are as rich and fulfilling as those constructed by quartets or quintets in modern rock. Their debut album "While We Sleep" takes great inspiration from Muse when they were ambitious but still had their feet on the ground (i.e. pre-"Black Holes And Revelations"-era), but move that progressive alternative rock platform further in the direction of soothing post-rock soundscapes akin to pg.lost and Sigur Ros, while also throwing in a great deal of influence from Radiohead's latest couple of albums. It's an eclectic mix of brilliant singing and electronic soundscapes made to sound like an ambitious rock album, which should appeal to a whole lot of mainstream music fans as well as those into the embedded details within their sound.

Essentially, they are two elements to Jeudah's sound: Pianos/effects, guitars, bass, and drums, which are acting as support to provide a majestic instrumental backing, and the main element, Jämte's breathtaking vocal work. The music is lighter than Muse, though still all very grand and majestic, but it's like that on purpose to make room for Jämte's very Matthew Bellamy-esque pipes which take the leading role on the album. In fact, as you progress through the record song-by-song, he only seems to keep getting better. "The Wind Carries The Fire" provides one of his best performances, but it is "The Lash" that unleashes Jeudah's potential fully. It's a powerful song that captures all that was great about Muse on "Absolution" perfectly, starting from the astonishing vocal melody to the carefully thought-out instrumental build up to the climax of the song. In fact, I'm almost ready to choose this song over any on "The Resistance"...which should tell you what kind of song we are dealing with here.

With songs like "The Lash" Jeudah should be an internationally known act by now. Their success is only hindered by bad tracking decisions, leaving the weaker tracks at the beginning of the album and finishing the album with four or five of their best songs. In other words, if you like Muse, or ambitious and progressive alternative rock/pop in general, Jeudah's your best bet if you've exhausted your copy of "Absolution" already.

7

Download: The Lash, The Wind Carries Fire, Black Swan
For the fans of: Muse, pg.lost, Radiohead
Listen: Bandcamp

Release date 17.06.2011
Black Star Foundation

Related Items | How we score?
Comments
comments powered by Disqus

Legal

© Copyright MMXXIV Rockfreaks.net.