There's a part of me that doesn't even want to address the religious overtones that coat this record, not because of any silly aversion to religiously themed music or a discussion of faith, but because talking at length about them seems to force deeper meaning upon them than they seem intended to carry. Copious mentions of Jesus and Mary in both the titles and lyrics on this EP aside, Cambridge, England's Broken Family Band aren't playing devotionals here, nor are they offering any particular critique of Christianity or religion in general; rather, Jesus appears to be just another vehicle for the quartet's Appalachiophiliac explorations of love and loss, and the effects of alcohol on one's senses of balance and abdominal fortitude.
So basically, what you have is a four-piece British Americana band who aren't afraid to have a little fun with the #1 Son, and is that really so wrong? Well, when the music is this ingratiating, it certainly is not. Even at their nadir, their puzzlingly straight cover of Neutral Milk Hotel's "King of Carrot Flowers, Pts. 2 & 3", these guys display an infectious energy and beery exuberance that marks them as nothing if not endearing. Plus, they had the decency to ask Jeff Mangum if they could kill his song before they went and did it, and you have to respect that.
Oddly, wonderfully, The Broken Family Band actually call to mind the captivating weirdness of Neutral Milk Hotel more on a couple of their originals than they do on their cover. Vocalist Steven Adams' tumbling syllables on "Mother o' Beauty" nod to Mangum's "Song Against Sex", and the jumble of pep and melancholy in the music are in aesthetic harmony with In the Aeroplane Over the Sea. Still, it's not a mere knockoff: The lyrics function as a letter from home, running off a litany of boring family trivia like "Dave got a cold/ And Sally got married," but the choice of phrases reflecting longing and distance turns it profound, the way Ray Davies used to be able to turn domestic dreariness into epiphany.
The backbone of the EP is the "Walking Back to Jesus" trilogy, three distinct songs that use the title as a hook in completely different contexts. The first opens the disc with a pensive, one-chord skulk, building to a distortion-soaked climax like none other in the band's catalog-- it's the only hint here that bassist Gavin Johnson was once a member of tragically short-lived post-rockers Gwei-Lo, and it's a suitably ass-kicking opener. The acoustic guitar and banjo of the middle installment have a decidedly different tone, and Adams' easy delivery belies his pained soul-searching, flowing swiftly into the refrain of "I am not your only son, but I am equal to whichever one you compare me to." "Part Three" is the strangest, a slow bob over accordion and Mick Roman's two-stepping drums joined near the fade by a Welsh male voice choir.
Jesus Songs is The Broken Family Band's third major release, after a full-length and an EP, and it proves their mettle as transatlantic style-hoppers, as well as fine songsmiths. People looking for some sort of religious experience, either musical or lyrical, aren't going to find them here, and by the same token, folks who cringe at the merest whiff of Christian Coalition evangelizing have nothing to fear from these guys. What listeners will find is some solid Anglicized country and a band to keep an eye on.
