Like, Love, Lust and the Open Halls of the Soul

Like, Love, Lust and the Open Halls of the Soul, Jesse Sykes and the Sweet Hereafter

This is easily my favorite album of 2007, indeed one of the top ten of the last decade. Jesse's haunting, beautiful, incredibly variable voice takes us through an ecstatic journey on her latest album, expressing a style that has been described as religious grunge, spirituo-country-grunge-folk, and other names which don't quite capture the true essence of this amazing phenomenon. The band has been praised from coast to coast and indeed, they sound as if they are (rightly) enraptured with their lead singer, providing perfect harmonies, slashing guitar solos and crescendos that take seven minutes or more to build and peak, culminating in something that is as moving as it is intellectually and emotionally engaging. When I first bought this album, I listened to it over fifty times in the first month. I simply couldn't believe that someone could sing the way Jesse Sykes does, that anyone could have this kind of inflection, passion, and depth to her voice and lyrics. And with each listening, I became more and more amazed by the backup band's perfect job of bolstering her and truly lifting her up with their own vocal and instrumental perfection. A must have for anyone that claims to really like pared-down, genuine music that has not been over-produced or pop-culture-sylized.
-Barbu