8.5/10

For those unaware of the sinister, weird magnificence of David Lynch, his films and series are usually accompanied by equally strange yet wonderful music: edgy, dark, seductive, indulging the seedy side of Americana. Young Widows frontman Evan Patterson’s solo project Jaye Jayle fits this bill perfectly, its Dark Country-style jangle carrying a profound melancholy, and with sophomore album No Trail And Other Unholy Paths (Sargent House) being produced by Lynch’s musical adviser Dean Hurley, there’s an added resonance here. 

Full review via Ghost Cult.

 

Opener ‘No Trail Path One’ is a loop of curious piano, dotted with a retro Electronica melody and swelling keyboard undercurrent which actually evokes Stranger Things rather than anyLynch-ian world. ‘…Path Two’, meanwhile, is Tom Waits-esque: Pattison’s dry, deep croon uttering stark lyrics above a hypnotic, dusty backdrop. The sparing chorus is pregnant with wounded desire, Emma Ruth Rundle’s first appearance haunting yet lightening the air, those twanging chords inducing the devil with the ghosts of Johnny Cash and Robert Johnson. 

‘Ode To Betsy’ doesn’t buck this trend initially but the washboard rhythm, Todd Cook’s howling bass and occasional jagged chord add an element of steel to the template, while the mournful build of the second half brings unbelievable tension. The loop and piano intro of the slightly more uplifting ‘Accepting’ brings to mind mid-period Tori Amos, Pattison’s voice soaring to a chilled melody even while delivering the immortal line “If I had a Father I would tell him to fuck off”. 

And here’s the rub: despite any attempt at levity, any hooks in the music, the overwhelming air is one of a resigned, fatal recklessness sometimes at odds with the sound. ‘Accepting’s harmonic chime doesn’t disguise the bitter isolation, something the delicious, plaintive sax squeals to great effect. ‘As Soon As Night’ brings that electronic swell to howl over a suicide note, the darkness and tension almost unbearable as the track reaches its climax. 

Leadoff release ‘Cemetery Rain’ invokes some of Jon Crosby’s calmer VAST moments, Neal Argabright’s drums again building a wall without hitting crescendo. The gorgeous ‘Marry Us’, meanwhile, is another Rundle-graced, urgent lament to escape, to eventual Bonnie and Clydeoblivion. Closer ‘Low End Street’ sees more of that filthy sax ride above a fizzing bass and deliberate drums, the vocal now possessing a honeyed richness, an echoing lead flutter lighting up the fetid night. 

Although bereft of crashing noise ‘No Trail…’ is luscious, emotional, dirty, despairing, and brings a host of influences into a melting pot of diseased loneliness and hedonism the like of which Dorian Gray would revel in. Emotive, cold, utterly fantastic.

Jaye Jayle US/EU/UK 2018 tour dates with Emma Ruth Rundle

SEP 15 Louisville, KY @ Zanzabar 
SEP 16 Detroit, MI @ El Club 
SEP 17 Toronto, ON @ Sneaky Dee’s 
SEP 19 Portsmouth, NH @ The Press Room 
SEP 20 Allston, MA @ Great Scott 
SEP 21 Brooklyn, NY @ Saint Vitus 
SEP 22 Philadelphia, PA @ PhilaMOCA 
SEP 23 Baltimore, MD @ Metro Gallery 
SEP 24 Pittsburgh, PA @ Club Cafe 
SEP 25 Chicago, IL @ The Empty Bottle 
OCT 06 Lille, FR @ Aeronef 
OCT 07 Colmar, FR @ Grillen 
OCT 09 Bermeo, ES @ Beleza Malandra Ateneo Kulturala 
OCT 10 Oviedo, ES @ Lata de Zinc 
OCT 11 Porto, PT @ Passos Emanuel  
OCT 12 Lisbon, PT @ Music Box 
OCT 13 Madrid, ES @ Changó 
OCT 14 Barcelona, ES @ AMFest 2018 * 
OCT 16 Mersaille, FR @ TBD 
OCT 17 Zurich, CH @ Rote Fabrik 
OCT 18 Leipzig, DE @ UT Connewits 
OCT 19 Prague, CZ @ TBD 
OCT 20 Köln, DE @ Gebade 9  
OCT 21 München, DE @ Villa 
OCT 23 Berlin, DE @ Bi Nuu 
OCT 24 Hamburg, DE @ Hafenklang 
OCT 25 Malmo, SE @ Plan B 
OCT 26 Oslo, NO @ BLÄ 
OCT 27 Stockholm, SE @ Strindbergs Intima 
OCT 28 Gothenborg, SE @ Skjul Fyra Sex/Skjulet! 
OCT 29 Copenhagen, DK @ Hotel Cecil 
OCT 31 Rotterdam, NL @ Rotown 
NOV 01 Groningen, NL @ Vera 
NOV 02 Paris, FR @ Petit Bain 
NOV 03 Manchester, UK @ Soup Kitchen 
NOV 04 Bristol, UK @ Rough Trade 
NOV 06 Glasgow, UK @ Stereo 
NOV 07 Newcastle, UK @ The Cluny 
NOV 08 London, UK @ Oslo 
NOV 30 Nashville, TN @ The High Watt 
DEC 01 Atlanta, GA @ Drunken Unicorn 
DEC 03 Dallas, TX @ Double Wide 
DEC 04 Austin, TX @ Barracuda 
DEC 06 Albuquerque, NM @ Sister 
DEC 07 Phoenix, AZ @ Valley Bar 
DEC 09 Los Angeles, CA @ The Echo 
DEC 10 San Francisco, CA @ Rickshaw Stop 
DEC 12 Portland, OR @ Mississippi Studios 
DEC 13 Seattle, WA @ Barboza 
DEC 15 Salt Lake City, UT @ Kilby Court 
DEC 16 Denver, CO @ Lost Lake 
DEC 17 Kansas City, MO @ The Riot Room