#4 Album of the Year
- Story by Adrien Begrand
Jesu - Conqueror (Hydra Head)
Five years after the dissolution of Godflesh, Jesu has blossomed into a musical rebirth for Justin Broadrick, whose prolific output over the last three years has yielded six EPs (including four this year) and a pair of full-length albums. Already an appealing formula—Broadrick channeling his love of everything from singer-songwriter fare to UK post punk and late ’80s shoegaze—the balance between crushing riffs and melancholic melodies is especially impeccable on the majestic Conqueror, on which the heaviness of 2005’s Jesu and the dreamy melodies last year’s Silver EP find an entrancing middle ground.
Ten months after Conqueror’s release, Decibel still hasn’t tired of it, and neither has Broadrick. “What most often happens with me, and what’s happened through most of my career, is with each album I release, generally within six months of its release I’m usually highly critical of it,” he says. “But as I’ve got older I’ve been able to become more mature about the way I approach these records. Maybe I can just see things a bit more clearly. When I was younger, I would just live for the next six months, like teenagers do; I’ve sort of grown up making these records. In the studio making these records I’m way harder to be satisfied, but by the time I’ve finished the thing, the period of satisfaction after the record is actually a lot longer than it used to be.”
For nearly two decades, Broadrick’s music has always been linked to darker themes like anger and sadness, but hearing Conqueror, and listening to him contemplate the past year, contentment seems to be the dominant mood. “It’s a beautiful time for me. Godflesh was really restricted, with our record label and all manner of things, and even self-imposed restrictions, but Jesu’s the opposite of that,” he muses. “I’m working with record labels who are absolutely happy for me to be this prolific. It’s nice to pretty much do as I wish and let the creativity flow, as opposed to having to be restricted by music industry rules.”
He adds, “I don’t know how I didn’t arrive here any sooner. It couldn’t have been possible. I needed to be this age; I needed to be at this level of maturity as a musician, producer and a songwriter. I couldn’t have done this in my 20s. Godflesh probably outstretched its welcome. It’s not like I’m pissed off about it or anything; it’s good that it took me that amount of time to get to this group. But on so many levels, this is way more satisfying. It’s incredible.
“I do really think Jesu’s just beginning. I don’t see any end to it, whereas with Godflesh I could always see the end from where I was.”
