Justin Broadrick is one of music's certifiable legends. As a teenager he helped define grindcore as the guitarist for Napalm Death on their seminal album "Scum". Shortly after he formed Godflesh, one of the most influential bands of the last thirty years. Broadrick's soul-crushing metal mixed with ambient and industrial made for one of the most original sounds of the 80s and 90s, as well as one of the most devastating. There isn't a respectable metal band operating today that has not cited Godflesh as an influence, dropped their name, or worn their t-shirt during a photo shoot. Out of the ashes of Godflesh's eventual demise came Broadrick's next major project; the jaw-dropping Jesu. This time Broadrick mixed shoegaze with his thundering heavy brand of doom metal and crafted some of the aughts most spectacular releases. Jesu was pummeling, but triumphant, harrowing, but beautiful, and again, nothing else really sounded like it.Yet the entire time that Broadrick was busy inventing genres and redefining the boundaries of what heavy music was, he was also tinkering with the most minor elements of his sound, crafting experimental side project after experimental side project based around his seeming obsession with the components of his larger scale projects. For instance, his early foray into electronic music came in the form of Techno Animal that focused on slowing down, remixing and tweaking the pummeling electronic beats that comprised the back-bone of Godflesh. Final became Broadrick's ambient project that focused on the droning, haunting effects-laden guitar that was initially featured on some of the tracks on Godflesh's "Pure" and "Selfless" then eventually in Jesu.
More often than not these side projects were interesting, but not essential, preliminary sketches or after-thoughts of Broadrick's greater musical exploration and development. The album "Pale Sketches" was exactly that. Although released in 2007 under the Jesu moniker, the album collected what were essentially early demos and unreleased tracks that Broadrick had been working on since 2000 that he didn't feel fit on "proper" Jesu releases. Broadrick's instinct to not include them was spot on, since most of the tracks were subdued electronic pieces that would have indeed sounded out of place next to the muscular guitar riffs of an archetypal Jesu piece. Now Broadrick has revisited those tracks under the guise of Pale Sketcher, and scaled them back even further; stripping them of any guitar whatsoever and submerging them entirely in a batter of electronica.
Why would Broadrick do this? Hell if I know. But he did and the result is mixed to say the least. Maybe it was so he could get a spot on one of those upscale lifestyle cds which were so popular in the late-90s like Wallpaper and Cafe Del Mar, because some of the tracks here actually sound like they could fit on those kind of collections. 'Let's go shop at Ikea and listen to Pale Sketcher on the way, what do you say babe? But first I need a latte, is there a Starbucks around here?' Seriously, I can hear that conversation playing out when I listen to this album. Ok, maybe I am being a bit facetious, but still this sounds like Jesu stripped of all of all it's might, and made polite (and no I really didn't mean to make that rhyme, it just sort of came out that way). You absolutely could play this at a dinner party and no one would be the wiser. Of course that doesn't mean it is unlistenable, rather the opposite is true. This is a little too listenable, too accessible, too balearic. Sure between the chill ambient textures there is a tiny bit of that Jesu sturm and drang, but it is emasculated and subdued to the point that it is but a shadow of its former self.
Broadrick has hinted at this kind of move over the past few tracks he has released, which were admittedly more synthesizer based than they were guitar, but those tracks have been heavy for the most part. What makes Pale Sketcher so different is how incredibly pleasant of a listen it is overall. Taken on its own accord, this isn't a bad record. The problem is that Broadrick's traditional audience will likely be left cold, while the proper audience for this kind of album may not ever be exposed to it. Then again, Ghostly International is releasing this, which could find Broadrick a whole new audience. I guess if Bob Mould can become a techno DJ, then surely Broadrick can find his own following among fans of this kind of thing. For the rest of us, this will go down as just another Broadrick side project in between something much greater.
"Can I Go Now (Gone Version)"
"Don't Dream It (Mirage Mix)"
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