Review: Sonic Jesus - Neither Virtue Nor Anger

There has been considerable hype, almost mythos, surrounding Sonic Jesus for some time now, and I have viewed this from afar....everytime I vow to check it out, something else pops up to distract me, like a labrador with a squirrel. Now, I'm a big enough person to take responsibility for my mistakes...and this was a mistake, a very big mistake. I was sent a promo of the album by the lovely people at Fuzz Club (cheers Dan!) and I have listened, nay, digested 'Neither Virtue Nor Anger' over the past couple of days and it is fuckin' immense...rarely has hype been matched by reality in such a dramatic and soul-searing manner. It takes all preheld and preconceived perceptions about psychedelic music and rips them apart in front of your eyes. It is a dense and uncompromising listen; there are no 'fluffy' tracks to alleviate the overwhelming foreboding, no sparkly little breakdowns or frivolous cover versions...it is a work of dark genius which will shape the psych / shoegaze scene in the future.

The band (Tiziano Veronese and Marco Baldassari) hail from Doganella Di Ninfa, Italy and shortly after getting together in 2012, they released their first self-titled EP which almost immediately sold-out. They have also contributed to Fuzz Club's excellent 'Reverb Conspiracy' compilations. For a band to build such a following and reputation in such a short amount of time is astonishing, and on the strength of this album, not in the slightest bit surprising.

At over ninety minutes long, to listen in one sitting is an investment in time and emotion, and it is album that deserves, or rather, needs to be listened to...not heard as background music or driving in the car. The album opens with 'Locomotive' which starts off as an almost slowcore number, melancholy vocals over a simple guitar refrain, but like the titular transport, it gathers momentum and when the guitars open up a wall of sound...the locomotive becomes a steamroller, crushing all in its path. 'Triumph' is beckoned in with a tolling bell before the drums start their insistent, repetitive beat - there are obvious Sisters Of Mercy comparisons to be drawn, from the Eldritch-like vocals to the Doktor Avalanche drum machine beat, but the Sisters playing Joy Division is probably nearer the mark. 'Reich' is a monster...swirling organ, more motor driven beats, enough fuzz to keep anyone happy and the addition of some female vocals which provide an interesting counterpoint to the dark male vocals.'Sweet Suicide' is another that will draw Joy Division comparisons with regard to the vocals, but the addition of some twangy, gothabilly guitars ala Deadbolt give it an interesting edge. 'Dead' has a real Suicide circa 'Rocket USA' vibe to it and is probably as upbeat as the album gets..the drums are clear and insistent, the organ stabs and swirls and again the fuzz quotient is skyhigh. 'Paranoid Palace' is a epic, slowburning track, with a Dead Skeletons feel about it with enough distortion to disorientate the hardiest of souls. 'Drift 22' comes across like a goth Clinic or even a more structured Alien Sex Fiend and there is a malevolence that oozes from the speakers. 'Lost Reprise (Francesca) has a lovely, shimmering Velvets feel to it that takes us back to the sixties but in the company of Spacemen 3.

The second half (or disc 2 of the sumptuously packaged vinyl) kicks of with 'Monkey On My Back' and a spoken word Willam Burroughs sample (“When I become Death, Death is the seed from which I grow”). The track has some lovely bluesy riffs and distorted vocals.'Whore Is Death' has a repetitive, almost motorik beat over which some sparse electronica is laid giving it an experimental industrial feel, like some of Throbbing Gristle's more restrained work. 'My Lunacy' has a distinct western atmosphere with some wonderful drones and muted vocals...put me in mind of The Myrrors at some points. 'Luxury' is another brooding number that weighs heavy with regret and foreboding. Any song song called 'Cancer' is hardly going to be a jaunty sing-a-long and this track has enough fear, dread and ominous overtones to befit its name....a slow, doomy track with some more wonderful twang to somewhat alleviate the gloom. 'Telegraph' is another with Suicide overtones, a post-punk electronic paean to technology and it's inherent pitfalls. 'Undergound' is another track that lives up to it's name - a dark missive sent up from Hades as a warning to transgressors and has a feel of The Janitors about it...the dark drones and strident, impassioned vocals. The track builds to a wonderfully unhinged, screaming climax. 'Kali Yuga' brings the album to a close which is apt (Kali Yuga is the last of the four stages the world goes through as part of the cycle of yugas described in the Sanskrit scriptures). It's tribal drums, chanting and drones have a spiritual feel which is joined by some lovely organwork. It is more heavenly than hellish.

For all that I've written above, 'Neither Virtue Nor Anger' is an album that needs to be heard to be fully appreciated...the atmosphere it generates, the emotions it evokes and the pictures it paints...whilst being a psych / shoegaze album, it rises above genres and styles and becomes a 'thing' in itself....a gamechanger for sure.

'Neither Virtue Nor Anger' is out now on Fuzz Club and should be available from your record purveyor of choice.