Album Description

One of the things that makes My Jerusalem special is the varied experience and perspectives they bring to the songs, both those Jeff has when he walked in the door, and those they've since written together. All are multi-instrumentalists with a history of onstage and self-recording ingenuity.

"All of us at one time have kind of done the one-man-band kind of thing, so if you put five one-man-band people together, it's like 25 people, like the Polyphonic Spree," Jeff chuckles.

Without Feathers opens with the driving "Sweet Chariot." The track begins with a jaunty horn line tugging at Klein's wounded whisper, Cully's fierce drum rolls ratcheting up the intensity until it all explodes into its cathartic chorus: "Victory is ours!"

"'Sweet Chariot' was the most fun to record," Jeff says. "We set up drums in the kitchen and used only two microphones. The song feels almost like the band's anthem."

There's a theme here: positivity, an upbeat outlook. Jeff's solo work was always well received, but for all its intensity and dark beauty, it wasn't what you'd dial up looking to be uplifted.

The band is of no fixed genre, approaching each song individually to see what they can bring to it and pull out if it. "That's it for me," says Dave. "It's the ability of the songs to be done in a bunch of styles - from acoustic to trashrock. We've done versions of several in different ways and the strength of the melodies and all seem to stand up, which will make for a killer, and unpredictable live show."

Reviews