ALTERNATIVE PRESS
NEW MUSIC NOW
GENE LOVES JEZEBEL
Josephina EP Heavenly Bodies
By Dave Greene / Jo-Ann Thompson
It’s been six years since “Desire’s” chartbound death-dance first pushed
Gene Loves Jezebel into American hearts, years during which they’ve changed
a bit, progressed a lot, and not made two albums with the same line-up
since 1987. How long can you spend on the very edge of stardom, before
the view gets stale?
Kiss of Life, two years ago, did more than prove there was life beyond
Michael Aston. For the first time since Immigrant it showed the Jezebels
finally coming to terms not only with their Goth-whipped past (“Why Can’t
I?,” “I Die for You”), but also their glam-handled present (“Jealous,”
“Walk Away”).
But this consolidation of truth was a temporary thing. In as much as
it starts out from where Kiss left off, “Josephina” is “Desire” rolled
into “Immigrant” rolled into “Motion of Love,” a whopper of a dance floor
bopper. Before, though, the band was drenched in a thick-layered mix; today
it kicks every instant into glowing Technicolor prominence, driven (but
never dominated) by James Stevenson’s Bolan Boggie guitar, higher in the
mix than he’s ever played before.
Ah, but that’s only half of it. The bright and busy Bodies blazes with
brain-charring fire, chords and choruses alike shattering any preconceptions
that past outings may have left you with (come on, we all thought they’d
gone L.A. the first time we heard “Jealous”); shattering too, the rules
rock has laid for what is and ain’t accessible.
It’s good that Jay Aston remains a cockamamie Caruso, his voice an uncompromised
yelp gone Brian Eno-a-go-go; good that, except when they get on a sharp-angled
hook, the Jezebels remain that prowling circus of sinister cynics who showered
Gothdom with glitter; and good that, with the exception of Flesh for Lulu
and Love and Rockets, they’re the only band left with three words in their
name who still remember they’re here.
See, it isn’t ego, and it’s not really fame either. Gene Loves Jezebel
matter because emotion, energy and excellence still matter, and if such
attributes have sunk to the bottom of the rock ‘n’ roll food trough, more
power to the Jezebels for diving in to find them. Most bands wouldn’t risk
getting their hands dirty.
How soon can we nominate our albums of the year? (Savage/BMG)
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