The Jesus Lizard – Rack

Ipecac

Over six albums in the 1990s, The Jesus Lizard probably became the benchmark by which post-hardcore four-piece guitar bands were judged and more often than not, those being compared were found wanting.

With a rhythm section described by Steve Albini as the best he had produced, a guitarist whose angularity and dissonance were second to none and an apparently unhinged and obfuscatory vocalist, they had it all. Choosing to bow out in 1998 with the under-appreciated Blue, they went on to various other projects, so it was received with some surprise and a little trepidation when news arrived of a new album from the reconvened group.

As it often is with the reappearance of a well-loved and critically lauded act and their decision to produce new material, there was an element of concern about how this would affect The Jesus Lizard’s legacy; but we really needn’t have worried.

As soon as the first shots ring out, it could be nobody else and they sound as vital and sharp as ever. That harsh tang of percussion, the crisp, inimitable bass, clean-blade riffing and the drawling sneer; all present and correct on opener “Hide And Seek”. The tempo is a hustle and the off-kilter guitar and the description of “the battle-axe with no sense of humour” hidden amongst the half-heard growl is prime Jesus Lizard. You immediately feel disinclined towards playing hide and seek with them and that sense of danger and devilishness continues throughout.

“Armistice Day” is slower, more leaden with guitars that would happily slice you up and drums that would then shovel the cold earth all over you. Whatever magic ingredient they had, the sense of them as a well-oiled infernal machine is still apparent and the tempos move from funereal to manic, the band showing how it is done and immediately taking their place at the front of the pantheon. Anger and tension still well up, but the spoken word noir-scape of “What If?” adds another string. You need to concentrate, but as each element bubbles up and vies for your attention, so you struggle you keep up with their rapid progress.

David Yow is still the loose cannon of old and although the voice may be a little less extreme, the arcane themes and wilful wordplay are still there, while David Wm. Sims‘ zig-zagging bass, Mac McNeilly‘s bone-cracking snare and the sheer vitality begs the question how they still manage to give the moshers what they want. Having said that, Duane Denison‘s twisted country guitar break on “Dunning Kruger” dials down the tension, with Yow seeming to actually enjoy singing while the almost folky twelve-string of closer “Swan The Dog” sounds sublime, until it has its head kicked in. There is always something up their sleeve and over the eleven tracks on Rack, we are given a masterclass in what we have been missing.

Twenty-six years seem to have passed in the blink of an eye for The Jesus lizard. This could easily have been released a couple of years after Blue, but perhaps there is just a little bit more depth to the songwriting and the breadth of styles is greater. It feels as though they could try anything and succeed, and on the strength and ease of Rack, there must be plenty more to come. Let’s hope it is not another quarter-century.

-Mr Olivetti-