Kerith Ravine

Item: The Streams of Jettison
Author: Jason Dodd

The Streams of Jettison

(2000)

Reviewed by Jason Dodd

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Label Bulletproof MusicHM Magazine #87January/February 2001

emo indie rock slowcore

It is an unfair reality that pigeonholes Kerith Ravine. It is true that singer Shepard has obvious traces of Billy Corgan and Jeremy Enigk in his wistful vocal meanderings. It is true that the plodding drums, hanging, sawing guitars, and cutting distortion can at times bring to mind a moody sonic pioneered by Sunny Day Real Estate, et al. The band will not even deny these facets of their sound. But the greater truth lies not too far beneath the surface truths -- down in the foundation of their songs -- embedded in the granite of rock music.

Citing possible influences is easy. Comparing to contemporaries is easy. Hearing the unique beauty, pervasive / controlling progressions, and successful songwriting risks of this album takes work. Art takes work -- for the artist creating and the person absorbing -- both persons must work. They must both expend energy. The difference between the pop aesthetic and the rock aesthetic, as the terms (overused as they may be) apply in a broader sense to all forms of art, is the ethic of mutual work. It is very much like comparing a product advertisement to a painting. One does all the work for you and stimulates the autonomic sensual systems of your brain -- "Mmmm...," "Looks good," "That's pretty," "I want..." The other defies your natural banality, and demands that you THINK, that you FEEL, that you UNDERSTAND -- at least on the purifyingly subjective level good art lives upon.

And the fact that that fact is fairly relevant to Kerith Ravine is noteworthy (although, it could be said that comparing any rock music to a Monet painting, or a Bach composition, is foolhardy at best, but the base ethic is NOT thwarted by degrees of 'complexity' or academic, elitist quantifications of 'genius').

Kerith still have room to grow, greater chances to take, more need to completely unleash their individual / collective spirit; but the level of intelligence, creativity, and artisan WORK put into the songs on this young record already stands successful in its context. The Streams of Jettison should provoke an edifying, enjoyable work response in you, and it definitely promises another level of rock 'n' roll integrity for the near future.