When writing an album review, I sometimes have to be reminded that I am writing for two audiences: those that have heard this particular band before and those that haven’t (thanks, James). Jess and the Ancient Ones is a band that I seem to always have a hard time describing. There’s a Grateful Dead song called “The Music Never Stopped” with a lyric that says, “They’re a band beyond description.” Well, this is how I feel about Jess and the Ancient Ones and even more so their latest offering, Vertigo.
Jess and the Ancient Ones is a Finnish psychedelic/occult rock band that defies any limitations and boundaries for those that aren’t familiar. Influenced by the great occult/psych-rock bands of yesteryear such as Coven, Shocking Blue, and 13th Floor Elevators, Jess and the Ancient Ones have found a way of combining all of their influences to create a sound which can only be described as Jess and the Ancient Ones. They are not a band that makes music for someone who wants background music. Jess and the Ancient Ones and their latest album Vertigo deserve and require 100% of your attention.
With each album, Jess and the Ancient Ones continues to evolve. Starting as a seven-piece band and whittling down to a five-piece, one guitar band, Jess and the Ancient Ones embraced this change instead of letting it cripple them. Keyboardist Abraham stepped up his role considerably by filling in the voice left by two guitarists’ departure. The previous album, The Horse and Other Strange Tales showcased this configuration’s debut, and while it was pulled off exceptionally well, it has been perfected on Vertigo. With this change in numbers, guitarist/songwriter Thomas Corpse showcases his ability to not just be an amazing, underrated guitarist but his ability play in a more sparse, tasteful manner than most guitarists. There is no smoke and mirrors when it comes to his playing as he plays “for” the song, not over the song.
Vertigo has Jess and the Ancient Ones taking all of the best elements from their three previous releases. Together these elements are combined into a collection of songs that act as a sonic anthology that showcases the band’s dynamic range and versatile performances. My first listen to Vertigo had me feeling a bit uneasy at first but in the best of ways. It’s like when you dip your toes into a lake, and it’s cold, and you’re hesitant to jump in. Once you jump into that water, you get more comfortable yet are still somewhat uneasy about what you cannot see below you. This is what listening to Jess and the Ancient Ones’ Vertigo was like to me. It’s exciting, uneasy, moving, and unsettling. Vertigo isn’t just an album to be listened to; it’s an album to be experienced, felt, and absorbed. Jess and the Ancient Ones is not a predictable band, so by the time I had wrapped my head about what I was listening to, the album’s closing epic, “Strange Earth Illusion,” was settling in. On my 2nd listen, I was a bit more prepared and what I heard was sonically staggering.
Each song on Vertigo is its own entity. Each song tells a unique story, and all of them combined creates a journey for the mind. From the bouncy and danceable “Burning of Velvet Fires” to the downright uncomfortable vibe of “Born to Kill” and “Summer Tripping Man,” Jess and the Ancient Ones have mastered the art of taking the listener on a journey without having to leave your place physically. In a nutshell, the listener will be transported into a whole other realm; the realm of Jess and the Ancient Ones.
The showstoppers on Vertigo are the 11 ½ minute closer “Strange Earth Illusion” and the magnificent “Love Zombi.” “Love Zombi” sees Jess and the Ancient Ones dipping their toes into strange waters and presenting a song that is unlike anything they have done before. “Love Zombi” is like a time warp back to 1968 Hollywood where you would find a band playing in the shadows of the Whiskey a Go-Go while people danced on raised platforms. Locking down a danceable groove while still maintaining that touch of evil is something they exceeded on this track. This is some of lead vocalist Jess’ finest work as her voice reaches new heights that had never been attempted in the past. The rhythm section of Fast Jake (bass guitar) and Yussuf (drums) are ultimately put to the test laying down a complex, loose, yet tight pocket groove that carries this song to its finish. Lead vocalist Jess lets it all go without abandon with a vocal performance that literally had me slam my fist on my desk and exclaim, “Goddamn!” Vertigo is hands down my favorite vocal performance by Jess which shows that with each album she becomes more and more of an uncontainable force.
“Strange Earth Illusion” does a complete 180-degree turn from the acid-fueled danceability of “Love Zombi” and into the murky, the dark, and the unsettling. Once again, I couldn’t predict where this song would take me, and just when I least expect it, I felt as if I had just arrived at the top of the rollercoaster tracks and plummeted at full speed. “Strange Earth Illusion” is a sensory ride of peaks and valleys that you just can’t prepare yourself for.
Vertigo hit me on not just a mental and emotional level but on a spiritual level. Vertigo took me places that only Jess and the Ancient Ones has taken me before and it’s a place I long to visit as frequently as possible. You’ll dance, you’ll be intrigued, and at times you may be uncomfortable, but that is what they set out to do; that is Jess and the Ancient Ones and this is one of many reasons they are easily in my top 5 favorite bands of all time. Jess and the Ancient Ones is an unpredictable band, and Vertigo sees Jess and the Ancient Ones taking another step into their own realm. In this realm, they continue to move within it as a lone wolf left to hunt without the distractions of a lesser prey getting in their way. In the realm of Jess and the Ancient Ones, they are unstoppable and incomparable. Jess and the Ancient Ones is a band that is truly beyond description.
Pre-Order Vertigo HERE.
About The Author
