Jex Thoth – Witness

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Three years having passed since Jex Thoth released their debut full-length album their activity in the interim has been somewhat limited, this three-song EP and an appearance at the Roadburn festival in April being the sum total in recent times. Less guitar-oriented than the album Witness sees the band, fronted by the ethereally-voiced Jessica Toth, reclining into a melancholic ’70s haze, stringing their two new songs and a cover into a continuous fifteen-minutes of doomy mood music that could just as easily be the soundtrack black-and-white zombie movies. Similar to what emerging retro-rock outfit The Devil’s Blood are currently making a name doing, except with more misery, Raven Nor The Spirit and Slow Rewind are two of Jex Thoth’s best songs to date, and the laid-back, dreamier quality this new material has suits them, and Jessica’s voice, perfectly. The closing number is a cover of avant-garde ’70s pop outfit Slapp Happy‘s Mr. Rainbow, given the psychedelic doom touch and fitting in with the other two tracks like they were meant to be together, the lyrics given a haunting overtone in the process. Fans of the band will find a lot to like here, and it’s impossible not to appreciate the exquisite merging of 1970s psychedelic sensibilities with a mellow doom sound.

Written by Andy Lye
More: Doom Metal, EPs, Quick.Play Reviews, Jex Thoth