It’s been a quarter of the century since The Jesus Lizard disbanded. Sure, there was a brief live comeback in the late 2010s, but the Texan noise-rockers soon went their separate ways again. It seemed for all the world that the final chapter was written. What a delight it is, then, to have ‘Rack’, the band’s seventh full length album, with us. What’s even more delightful, though, is that it makes it feel as though they never went away.
Leave anything alone for 25 years and there’s a good chance it will have diminished when you dig it back out, but ‘Rack’ shows no signs of rust. No, ‘Rack’ is a continuation of The Jesus Lizard’s notoriously riotous and unhinged ways, packed to the brim with inventive riffs, rumbling bass and barbaric poetry.
Opener and lead single Hide & Seek perfectly encapsulates noise-rock’s origins as a more artful left-turn out of punk, and while it sounds far more polished than their raucous earlier efforts, it pays dividends in making it more evident just how demented this band sounds when firing on all cylinders.
In case you doubted the influence The Jesus Lizard have had on guitar music, pay attention. Lord Godiva’s mathy opening riff sounds like it could have come off of an Arcane Roots record, while Moto(R) manages to be what guitarist Duane Denison described as “not Motörhead, and not Radiohead either”, teetering between both realms with impressive inventiveness.
In a record of highs, it’s tough to pick out any single peak, but Alexis Feels Sick, Is That Your Hand? and Swan The Dog are all in the conversation. In the end, though, the real takeaway is just how impeccably The Jesus Lizard have returned after so long away. You can’t teach an old dog new tricks? Just try telling them that.
The Jesus Lizard Upcoming Tour Dates are as follows:
Tue January 07 2025 - GLASGOW QMU
Wed January 08 2025 - MANCHESTER Manchester Academy 2
Thu January 09 2025 - LEEDS Brudenell Social Club
Fri January 10 2025 - BRISTOL THE FLEECE
Sat January 11 2025 - LONDON Electric Ballroom
Sun January 12 2025 - BRIGHTON Concorde 2
Tue January 14 2025 - BELFAST Limelight
Wed January 15 2025 - DUBLIN Button Factory
Thu January 16 2025 - DUBLIN Button Factory
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