JESSE SYKES & THE SWEET HEREAFTER
Like, Love, Lust & The Open Halls of the Soul
Barsuk
· Fresh from her guest spot on last year’s sunn o)))/Boris collaboration, Altar, Jesse Sykes releases her first album since 2004’s Oh, My Girl.
Females in alt-country – Neko Case, Lucinda Williams, etc. – all have close to pitch-perfect vocals. It’s a shame that we don’t get to hear more unique genre vocalists like Jesse Sykes. Despite her comparative lack of range, she more than makes up for it in her delivery. With that shaky, shivering voice, Sykes sets herself apart from her peers.
Or, at least, she has the potential to. The mellower tracks on Like, Love, Lust… are the most successful. "Spectral Beings" is perhaps the best example of this. Featuring only a sparse guitar melody and strings, Sykes’s voice hovers around the music like, well… a spectral being. However, when the music starts towards more upbeat and standard alt-country fare, like "You Might Walk Away," it feels as though she is overreaching to keep up with her backing band. Even with a few missteps, Like, Love, Lust… still provides something different for those who crave to hear a raw voice in a genre where flawlessness prevails.
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