Jess and the Ancient Ones – Second Psychedelic Coming: The Aquarius Tapes
Release Date: December 5, 2015
Label: Svart Records
Jess and the Ancient Ones have returned in 2015 with their latest album Second Psychedelic Coming: The Aquarius Tapes. In 2014 the band followed up their Astral Sabbat EP with the stellar “Castaneda” single which showed a significant growth in the band both as performers and writers. The growth was so significant that it left me wondering where Jess and the Ancient Ones would go with their follow up. After just one listen to Second Psychedelic Coming: The Aquarius Tapes I can only say that I was absolutely mesmerized and left speechless.
The opening track, “Samhain” sounds like the most natural progression from the song “Castaneda” and has such an eerie, surf rock psych rock vibe to it. Another standout track is “Equinox Death Trip” and it’s here that the vocal performance of lead singer Jess has been brought to a whole other level. Her soulful, au-natural voice brings chills up my spine and just when I thought shit couldn’t get better here comes Abraham with one of the sweetest organ solos one could unleash. Without a doubt, the stand out track on this album is the 22 minute opus, “Goodbye To Virgin Grounds Forever.”
I’ll be honest. When I saw that this song was 22 minutes long, my first thought was that this was either going to bury the band or be one of the greatest things I will ever lay ears on. Well, you can rest assure that this is without a doubt one of the single greatest musical moments I have ever experienced in my 32 years of being a fanatic music lover. Playing out more like a suite, “Goodbye to Virgin Grounds Forever” is a true piece of magic that encapsulates everything that I love this band. From the locked in groove of the rhythm section (Fast Jake and Yussuf respectively) to the sweet, soulful guitar work of Thomas Corpse and Thomas Fiend, and capped off by some of the most ethereal and beautifully haunting vocal work I have ever heard, this song isn’t something to be merely listened to. This is a song to be experienced. Put the headphones on take the journey. You’ll want to do this more than once because, like a great movie or book, each time you visit it you will find something that you didn’t find the previous time.
With the release of Second Psychedelic Coming: The Aquarius Tapes, Jess and the Ancient Ones as a whole seems to have solidified an identity that is all their own to possess. In a day and age where bands seem to be competing with one another to try and top each other while playing the same sound of music, Jess and the Ancient Ones have easily removed themselves from the pack and have proven to be the leaders of a movement.
Second Psychedelic Coming: The Aquarius Tapes has Jess and the Ancient Ones stepping up their status from a great band to being leaders of the modern occult rock genre. Jess and the Ancient Ones are masters of the craft and I can stand by my belief that nobody does it better. Song for song, Second Psychedelic coming is a flawless occult rock masterpiece. It is a magical, psychedelic journey that swept me away and took me not just into the depths of music but I literally felt as if I were getting to see the inside of this band’s nucleus where something much more grand than anything I have ever experiences was revealed to me. What was that “something”? Listen for yourself and trust me, you will see it and feel it for yourself.
For more on Jess and the Ancient Ones, go to https://www.facebook.com/jessandtheancientones
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