My Jerusalem – Gone For Good

Gone for Good is the debut from Jeff Klein’s side project My Jerusalem.  Klein has pooled together an assortment of indie’s finest talent and the results do not disappoint, the music as varied and eclectic as the instruments used in concocting it, trumpets, guitars, drums and violins abound. Gone for Good follows in the wake of the bands EP, Without Feathers, both featuring the track Sweet Chariot and not without good reason.  Sweet Chariot follows the rather mild mannered and politely trumpet infused Valley Of Casualties, it serves as a shock to the system after our gentle Polyphonic Spree-esque (yes Rick Nelson, we’re looking at you) introduction to this latest and first full length offering.

Sweet Chariot unleashes the full force of Klein’s raw wailing vocals amidst a melodic sea of trumpets, drums, guitar and violins.  The track has enough power and electricity to run a small town.  Essentially it’s Klein and co. giving us a kick up the backside to show they mean business and are not to be taken as some skimpy side project. Remember Everything returns to the mellow atmosphere evoked by the albums starting track with trumpets and Nelson’s strings leading the way in this whimsical beauty.  This is followed by the Arcade Fire-esque panorama of Sleepwalking in which Klein demonstrates his full vocal range; husky utterings clash against mournful wails.

This leads us to the albums title track, a sombre, downbeat number which sees Klein drawl the lyrics and his voice fall prey to distortion, which in this particular case is not actually a bad thing, adding to the tracks eerie feel rather than detracting from it. Bury It Low sees Dave Rosser’s (also in the Twilight Singers with Klein) guitar come to the fore alongside Klein’s nail on chalkboard vocals to powerful effect.  The track is a refreshing break from the trumpets and violins, making it stand out among its neighbours.

Shake The Devil begins deceptively downbeat but transforms itself into a catchy number that will leave you craving to whistle along.  Hit The Lights is an eerily keyboard led track that will leave shivers going down your spine for all the right reasons. The albums first single Love When You Leave is the first time we hear a voice other than Klein’s coming to the fore.  Bassist Ashley Dzerigian (Great Northern) tackles the vocal mantle and does the job well, giving dimension to this laid back number.  Klein would be well advised to make more use of her talent in future.

The aptly titled Farewell wraps up this first outing for Klein’s creation.  A mellow yet cheerful song that leaves you with the impression the band are satisfied with their days work and rightly so. Gone for Good delivers just as it should and more considering the talent involved.  Klein and co can congratulate themselves, they are more than a mere half hearted side project, if Gone for Good is anything to go by they can expect to be around a lot longer than their album suggests.

www.thisismyjerusalem.com