Jesse Sykes Like, Love, Lust & The Open Halls Of The Soul CD

On 2007's lauded LIKE, LOVE, LUST & THE OPEN HALLS OF THE SOUL, alt-country singer-songwriter Jesse Sykes leads her Sweet Hereafter ensemble over dark, brooding terrain. With spare, haunting numbers such as "Eisenhower Moon" and "Spectral Beings," Sykes clearly shares a musical kinship with Neko Case, but where Case is adept at showcasing her vocal might, Sykes turns her fragile, raspy voice into an unlikely asset. Not all is doom and gloom on OPEN HALLS OF THE SOUL, though--"You Might Walk Away" is a raucous rock tune, and "I Like the Sound" evokes an air of 1960s psychedelia, making the album a fascinatingly unpredictable outing that will surely garner Sykes a wider audience.

Composer: Jesse Sykes.

Jesse Sykes: Jesse Sykes, Phil Wandscher (acoustic guitar); Anne Marie Ruljancich, Bill Herzog, Eric Eagle (background vocals).

Personnel: Eyvind Kang (viola); Gretchen Yanover (cello); Craig Flory (saxophone); Dave Carter , Billy Joe Huel (trumpet); Josiah Botthby (French horn); Ben O'Shea (trombone); Micah Hulscher (harmonium); Wayne Horvitz, Ron Weinstein (Hammond b-3 organ); Steve Moore , Tucker Martine (hand claps); Christy McWilson, Mike McNaughton, Carla Torgenson, Apple Martine, Vivian Linden, Nicolai Dunger, Barton Carroll, Angie Benintendi, Drew Whittemore (background vocals).Spin (p.87) - 4 stars out of 5 -- "[T]he riveting porch noir of the Sweet Hereafter is her ticket to heaven."
Q (p.116) - 4 stars out of 5 -- "Sykes's charred husk of a voice is more intoxicating than ever....Simply a wonderful record."
Uncut (p.98) - 4 stars out of 5 -- "The added zip only serves to spotlight her stark, moody delivery. She still does quiet, too, basking in the hush of the lovely 'How Will We Know'..."
Magnet (p.109) - "[P]enultimate track 'Morning, It Comes' detours mid-song toward an impossibly triumphant instrumental peak."
CMJ (p.37) - "[I]t's strangely comforting to have a record so unapologetically forlorn, and is a significant step forward for Sykes as a torchbearer of masterful mourning."
No Depression (p.109) - "The disc opens with 'Eisenhower Moon', a spare number featuring mostly harmonica and acoustic guitar, with Sykes' dry and crackling vocals backed by ghostly whispers."