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Jul 1, 2011No longer struggling to wake from bad dreams, Broadrick has rubbed the sleep from his eyes, dug through the rubble, and planted Ascension on the summit of the ruins of the world.
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Jul 13, 2011While tracks such as Broken Home still deliver the crushing might (albeit in a more subliminal fashion) to his other outfit, the recently resurrected Godflesh, there's a sense of hope in the levitation-inducing riffery. Stellar.
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Jul 1, 2011The leaner songwriting on Ascension could very well best Conqueror if it weren't for the scratchy production (why do the drums sound ratty, the synths sound tinny and everything else really seamless?), but it's still Broadrick's best Jesu record since then.
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Jul 1, 2011It is the dense, dour mini-symphonies such as Broken Home and December that, while unlikely to appear on the average feelgood summer playlist, offer the kind of beautifully brutal music that will continue to reap rewards as the long, dark nights of winter draw in.
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Jul 1, 2011It seems that no matter what he adds or subtracts, Jesu's recordings, have a defined feel that is, though lyrically and texturally beautiful, somewhat two-dimensional. That said, Ascension remains a deeply satisfying recording.
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Jul 1, 2011As an album-length wallow in bad feelings, it's an impressive thing indeed. But I prefer Jesu when their music is about connection rather than isolation.
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Jul 1, 2011Not quite as candy-coated as Conqueror or as harrowing as Jesu, it's mostly notable for both Broadrick's high level of quality control (unless you just outright dislike his kind of music, his songs are always at least pleasingly consistent in tone and impact) and his increasing, perhaps unwitting, move away from song form.
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Jul 1, 2011Ascension doesn't reinvent the wheel, but it's a welcome addition to the Jesu canon.
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Jul 1, 2011Undulating under shimmering waves of feedback is either a gorgeously fragile heavy metal record or the ballsiest Smashing Pumpkins ballads ever.
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MojoDec 12, 2011Suggests a majestic, exquisitely desolate mix of Isis and My Bloody Valentine.[Aug. 2011, p. 106]
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UncutJul 19, 2011The tracka are overlong and the ubiquitous fuzz pedal makes "Sedatives" and "King Of Kings" sound like a narcoleptic Screwdriver, but it's hard to knock Jesu's dedication to the sad, slow and contemplative. [Aug 2011, p.90]
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Jul 1, 2011Ascension reaches for the infinite, but achieve it only intermittently. Mostly you're left with songs that don't stop time, only slow it down.