Band: Jex Thoth
Album title: Witness
Label: I Hate
Distribution: Soulfood
Release date: 20/082010
Review: MCD

The American band Jex Thoth, once formed as Totem, isn’t an average formation – on the contrary. Throughout the years, Jex Thoth did release an EP, a split with the English Doom-formation Pagan Altar, and a self-titled full length; all of them were releases that were extremely well received by an open-minded audience. And you sort of need to be open-minded to appreciate this unusual material.

Like before, the tracks on Witness combine elements from (traditional) retro-Doom and psychedelic '60s/ '70s Rock, with a female vocalist (Jessica) and proto-Stoner elements. The rather heavy music is less guitar-oriented and more laid back than before, with a melancholic, nostalgic mood, yet without being sentimental. Besides two new songs, this three-piece consists of a Slapp Happy cover song, "Mr. Rainbow" [Slapp Happy were an alternative and avant-garde Pop formation during the seventies].

75/100

Ivan Tibos.