Jed - Synesthesia Review
by Daniel Walker
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If you think that Tool is becoming too heady, too convoluted, too ambitious, or that they lack the stripped-down oeuvre of their Undertow days, then maybe you should start banging your head to Jed, Aberdeen, Washington's new bad boys of cynical, circular alt/grunge rock. Erik Heimann emulates the primal moan of Maynard, but with a slight emo whine. He noticeably lacks the same power as Maynard, but I don't think we have heard such a compelling vocal tribute before this, though I am not sure.However, this disc does not properly capture the darkness and energy of early Tool and most nuances of prog rock are nonexistent. You can glimpse Tool's brand of prog in the intellectual angst of the lyrics, though. Throughout them, you may be tempted to peruse the dictionary when stumbling upon uncommonly-used words such as onus and fracas. The band uses historical/fantasy imagery in tracks such as "Ode to the Yeomann"(They mention the Saxons), "Two-Eyed Cyclops (which may deal with the one-sidedness of certain human visions), and "Rise of the Lombards". Whereas Tool tends to tackle more esoteric and antichristian themes, Jed tends to be more personal, but with the same purposefully convoluted style of songwriting. Jed's Synesthesia is an interesting exercise in Tool worship. The solid rhythm section and everything else is there (including a faceless clay figure on the cover familiar to many of Tool's music videos), but the conviction and the classic appeal are lacking. To be fair, though, I'm sure Jed did not set out to be Tool's clones and only a little comparative listening would be required to further distinguish the band. This is a solid first effort.
Tracklisting:
1. Madmartigan (4:11)
2. Ode to the Yeomann (3:46)
3. New Ambits (5:24)
4. Nympho ( 4:18)
5. Nothing (5:16)
6. Opal (5:05)
7. Two Eyed Cyclops (4:44)
8. John Incarnate (3:55)
9. Metragnomes (3:59)
10. Rise of the Lombards (3:29)
11. The Singularity (6:05)
CD Info and Links
Jed - Synesthesia Rating:7.3
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