J2

Bringing Broadrick’s professed Swans influence full circle, J2 expands upon the duo’s earlier collaboration on last year’s Lifeline EP with superb results. The record opens with the oppressive drone of "Decay,” then segues into the equally minimal, yet slightly more rhythmic, "Let Go” and continues to keep the dynamics thriving throughout its duration. Other tracks fuse the melancholic shoegaze/sludge of Jesu with the schizophrenic, occasionally terrifying vocal presence of Jarboe. While it doesn’t necessarily provide many surprises from either party, the combination of their equally emotional and varied performances provides for an effective and unsettling listen. It’s also quite a bit more involving than the last couple of Jesu releases and marks a slight regression to a noisier era of Broadrick’s work. Here’s to hoping this isn’t just a one-off.