Jesse Lidster is an artist from Australia who apparently started recording and producing his music about only a year ago. Even though he is in the embryonic stage of his development he released Journey Within which is a full-length album. The album is full of what one might call art rock. At times the music reminded me of a much more lo-fi version of Deerhunter.
“Cortex in a Vortex” is the opening track which is about seven-and-a-half minutes long. The music felt pretty original with a lot of surf rock lead type guitar with other elements that often erupt in a wave of white noise. Lidster certainly has some passion in the vocals but he often wasn’t able to stay in key when trying to hit higher notes which was distracting. The song felt long and it lingered it a little too long when the softer moments come. “Imagination FluXuation” is another solid song that seemed to go on little longer then it needed. He repeats the title of the song with a solid groove behind it. “MOTORVATED” was a distorted, chaotic song that has some solid moments of rock and mutates into artistic free form expression. The album started to spin out of control with “SquidgeeZ” which is a collage of noises making for the most avant garde piece yet. “A Reflection of Depression” is more or less just guitar and vocals. It’s arguably the highlight and seemed to be the most heartfelt song on the album. After another acoustic piece entitled “Do You Wanna Go Somewhere?” and the title track the album continues to go in any direction it choses. Typically with a debut album you want to build a foundation. There should be something cohesive whether you are Oneohtrix Point Never or Grizzly Bear that establishes a signature sound. Lidster gets an A for effort for thinking outside the box but I thought that reeling it in a little with the different approaches would have behooved him. As an engineer myself I think finding a producer/engineer to work with should be the next step for Lidster. There were a lot issues with masking frequencies, the drums, compression and more that a trained engineer would have been able to treat. Overall, I think Lidster showcased some good ideas and talent in multiple areas. For as little as he has been producing and recording music I felt like this was a valiant first effort. I hope to hear more as he evolves.
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