You Can Be My Wave

If you're still reeling from black midi's hiatus, you might want to tap into Touchdown Jesus. The Cincinnati, Ohio quartet makes it no secret that they take cues from them, going as far as including a "black midi" tag on their Bandcamp page. Touchdown Jesus isn't just blowing smoke though. They've got the drum chops, the mathy, carnival riffs, lyrical irreverence, and more to back it up. They emulate this particular sound so faithfully that, depending on who you ask, could levy the criticism that they don't really put an original spin on it. Personally, I'm not bothered by it as I found their second EP, It's All Feast Or Famine, to be quite strong and enjoyable.

I Love My Wife kicks things off with an instrumental section that alternates between funhouse, descending riffs with saxophone squawk accents and a heavy rock section that is majestically theatrical. Soon after, we are introduced to Miller Kaye's vocals, and admittedly, I'm not a fan of his verse. The macho lyrics (a page taken straight out of Geordie Greep's book) delivered with his gruff, animated voice wasn't really to my taste. The track picks up again, ending with another instrumental passage that has math rock's typical start/stop rhythms and metric modulation. By the second track, Hairdryer, I'm completely sold. This track has an impeccable funk groove with brittle guitars. The tune has that zany, Primus quality to it that black midi have also been known to incorporate on some of their songs. The uncanny tension these verses build is broken by jubilant walls of distorted guitars. We also get these dreamier passages with some smooth saxophone, and the vocals are treated with otherworldly reverbs. Speaking of, Ethan Kimberly takes over vocal duties on this one and I think his nasally, more spoken word approach fits the vibe much better, especially with how wide they are mixed.

Kimberly takes the lead once again on the more straightforward and low-key Jump Scare. While the track is not very flashy in terms of performance or progression, outside of a fantastic drum fill in the last verse, the unsettling vibe is quite intense. Snake Oil is perhaps my least favourite track on the EP as I find it doesn't really impress on either the performance or vibe end. However, the EP does end fairly strong with the seven minute New Swang. The first half of the track is by far the most mathy. We get intricate guitar riffs and drum grooves played at an elevated tempo, and it sounds impressively tight without sounding robotic. Transitioning into the second half, the band takes things into a rather sultry direction. The saxophones, the mellow guitars, and the side sticking makes me feel like I'm in an upscale lounge. The intensity ramps up again as Kaye's gentle voice transforms into a powerful holler. This combination of sounds reminds me of some of Fucked Up's more experimental works. To finish the track off, the band starts to reprise some of the mathier motifs before diving into a chaotic jam.

Funny enough, the few issues I have with black midi also apply to Touchdown Jesus. Linear song structures can be cool as long as each section heightens, or at the very least maintains, the energy from the previous section. This is something Touchdown Jesus has difficulty with at points, as I feel there are a couple disruptions in the flow or excitement. Also, the vocals, especially Kaye's, don't always seem to fit the music. I can say that he appears to have this Mike Patton-esque versatility, but hasn't quite found his voice to compliment the music. Still, the musicianship is very impressive and the production is very well done. I think audiences will be happy if this band continues to fill the void while black midi is working on solo endeavours.