If you're a regular reader 'round here, you'll have noticed we're pretty keen on this dude by now, so a chance to revisit the scene of his debut album's opening track won't go amiss.
"Queen Of The Underworld" immediately grabs you by the lapels with it's "You say you want a revolution" opening gambit, but Jesse imbues it with regret rather than intent, and the song flits from Springsteen lope (verses) to the gorgeous, longing-fuelled chorus, thru golden boy about town Ryan Adams' beacon-bright guitar break and back again with considerable aplomb.
Also insluded are two new tracks, "Cigarettes & Violets" and "Stranger Than Fools." Neither are quite as transcendent as anything from "The Fine Art Of Self-Destruction", but improve considerably with repeated plays. The former finds Jesse's vocal close-miked and fragile, framing a messed-up loser's anthem of sorts. Lyrically, he's at his most fatalistic( "You held all the aces, kings and queens, but you still lost the game"), though the slightly ragged "Stranger Than Fools" is more relaxed and loose, with the piano'n'conga arrangement fleshing out a melody that has more than a touch of Neil Young's "Music Arcade" about it.
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A nice companion piece to the album, and a cool quick introduction for those of you who've not yet sampled Jesse's gritty, dog-eared romanticism.
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