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20 November 2003
Jesse Sykes & the Sweet Hereafter, Reckless Burning (Burn Burn Burn)
Does the world really need another Cowboy Junkies? Or a southern gothic informed Mazzy Star? No and No. Yet we seem to get a few of these each year, and, for the most part, the results are mixed, bordering on the disappointing. Such is the case with Jesse Sykes & the Sweet Hereafter. There are a couple of key things that do separate Sykes and Co. from the rest of the wannabe pack. First, Sykes's voice is truly haunting. Second, guitarist Phil Wandscher (ex-Whiskeytown) hung out with everybody's favorite alt-country whipping boy, Ryan Adams, for several years. Problem is, there are also a couple of things that ultimately keep this Seattle band from reaching that Cat Power/Cowboy Junkies mix they seem to be shooting for. First, Sykes, for all her considerable vocal gifts, is a bit of a one-trick pony on record. There's not much variety here, which makes for an easily distracted listen. Second, Wandscher gets way too much credit for his work on Strangers Almanac, and Reckless Burning is the evidence. While Almanac conjured up the feeling of a lost soul in a beautiful place, Burning is as musically predictable as records come. There's nothing risky about the arrangements or Wandscher's playing. There's nothing reckless about the record at all, and that's too bad. On the bright side, Phil, I hear Ryan's latest album really sucks, too.
— Mitch Pugh
.: posted by Editor 3:31 PM
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