:: Jesse Morris Band - With These Hands

Jesse Morris Band

It’s an unfortunate time for the Jesse Morris Band to launch their ‘With These Hands EP’. With so many great EPs around at the album, one listen to this and your first instinct is to compare it to the other EPs going around; and the conclusion is simple. This is middle-of-the-road compared to them. For me this was a very up and down album. ‘Moon High’ is a very schizophrenic song that switches from smooth and sad rock to upbeat and happy in an instant. An interesting sound but it just didn’t grab me. Neither did ‘Feel No Pain’ which is interesting with its flute sounds but the song just didn’t feel like it ever got out of first gear. The mediocre songs continue with ‘Rise’. The song has a great message, but as the guys from Blue King Brown say, the message doesn’t get through if people aren’t drawn to listen to the song. ‘Rise’ sounds like the same riff repeated over and over, this just doesn’t cut it… not when there are great World Music bands out there like Bomba. Where this EP turns around is when the band decide that it’s okay to experiment a little. ‘All You Need’ is mellow and haunting; it’s obscure and works well. They also get experimental on ‘I Love This Town’, so much so that I’m sure that this is what Radiohead would sound like if they attempted reggae or world music. These tracks sound great and it’s this sound that the Jesse Morris Band needs to embrace if they’re going to make it in this world. A middle-of-the-road EP but well worth a listen for the experimental tracks.