And sometimes it’s the ones you’re not expecting that really leave an impact. Just wow. Look, we really dug both “Empty Space” and “Sweet Nothing” when we covered them recently but had NO idea what was to come on the rest of the debut full-length from Boston’s Jesus The Dinosaur! Per the Knyvet (Again, follow ALL of their roster!!!) press release: “Within the music of Jesus The Dinosaur is a sense of community and comfort, addressing the difficulties of coming-of-age in the modern day while also embracing connections with those who share a common value system”. Really sells you, right? Well, we’re here to say that after just ONE listen through Nothing To The Branches that statement couldn’t be more on point.
Normally, we’d do what amounts to a track-by-track breakdown as our review but we’re kind of feeling our feelings with this one so we’re just going to jump around. But in a way that makes sense of course! For starters, we don’t wanna say that Jesus The Dinosaur is the second coming of Fleetwood Mac (With less dysfunction, though) but they kind of are with the way the collective sounds that Tommy Ng (Vocals, Acoustic guitar, Synth), Hannah Foxman (Electric guitar, Vocals), J Kimball (Electric guitar), Bradley Robertson (Electric bass, Vocals, Additional Bass VI & loops) and Jamie Rowe (Drums, Percussion, Additional guitars, Vox, Synths & Loops) create are transcendent of any one genre that envelops Alternative, Folk, Indie, Pop and Americana to name a few.
There’s these glaring high points like the aforementioned singles meant to entice followed by tracks like “Lifetime” which are even bolder, bringing an immediately intimate and intricate tone to the record that’s intrinsic to the sonic fabric that is Jesus The Dinosaur. Hell, we’d go so far as to say this is one of our most favorite songs of the year. It’s just gorgeous with a subtleness that will easily stick with you as almost six minutes of moodiness and atmosphere gently float by with both Ng and Foxman vocally navigating listeners before Rowe’s percussive pick up begins for a slight jam to close out the song.
Kids, that was us waxing poetic about just one song in this. Are you ready for more? Because there’s a lot! “Resentment” is another feeling put to sound with twinkling guitars of all sorts (Acoustic! Electric!) vibing out for the cooldown lap. Elsewhere, “Agender” starts the record in fine form with a fascinating foray into the conversation of gender identity (“I am what I am/That’s enough”) from Ng while “Can’t Say” features Foxman on leads and tenderly touches on the topic of holding your tongue and withholding your truths in a bad roommate situation which is something most of us can relate to! Later still, “Looking For A Way Out” is Broadway-esque with Ng’s cadence and delivery but put through an Alterna-Folk filter with “Not Yr Boy” bringing broad melodies and more dense storytelling under cover of a timeless Alternative Rawk anthem.
Nothing To The Branches is out now and you can get ready to receive your very own version by heading here or to the stream below. For more from Jesus The Dinosaur, head to the information superhighway and click here or here.