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July 03, 2007
Neon Lights: El Jezel
Switching gears to Friday night's Neon Lights line-up, we'll first feature Astoria's finest, El Jezel. Jessica, Dan, and George form the versatile three piece, who produced last year's stellar post-rock flavored epic Elements of Being Put Together. Let's sample a few tracks and discuss, shall we?
For a band who readily admit in their song's first line to only visiting the Wolverine State once, El Jezel sure has a lot of Michigan-centric angst to work out. The resentment practically drips from the walls of the cavern in which the drums were apparently recorded. The brooding bass line glowers intently from behind its bangs. Only the guitars are putting on a passable poker face, but even the strings can't keep it up. Around the 1:20 mark, the fake smile turns into a vicious snarl, signaling the drum kit that the time for maintaining one's cool has now passed. A smashing climax emerges from nowhere, the sort of maelstrom on a dime that made the word Mogwai more than just a piece of 80's film trivia. This fury can't go on indefinitely, of course, and the track momentarily retreats back to its passive aggressive whispers. It's a false reprieve though, as this cycle of build and release goes on for an emotionally fraught 6 minutes before sulking off into the sunset.
"Oleta," on the other hand, is all simmering humidity, never given the thunderclap of release it so desperately desires. The still vaguely peeved rhythm section is held in check by icy synth notes and codeine dulled guitars. Breathy female vocals emerge this time, lightly cooing a Spanglish lullaby. Halfway through, the sleep dust evaporates, oomph quickly accumulating in the drum and guitar. It never breaks though, building to the last fade out, suggesting even more than it's willing to give.
If my vouchers might strike you as untrustworthy somehow, I offer these alternate sources of confirmation;
Earfarm
Cracker's United
Mercurial Sound
StereoactiveNYC
Subinev
Of course, if it's a character reference you're looking for, I can think of none better than the following clip. As art teacher for the grade school set, Jessica hooked the band up with a sweet gig indoctrinating young folks in the ways of the rock. Correctly guessing that sweeping post rock might not go over so hot with the eight year olds, the band snaps into an equally convincing dance rock style. The light's a little murky, but there's enough shine to make out the kids going stone bonkers.
El Jezel - "Obsessive"
You can buy tickets right now to see El Jezel along with Mancino, Thrushes, and De Novo Dahl, by going here. Freebies from the rest are forthcoming...
Posted by Jeff Klingman at July 3, 2007 12:50 AM
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