Arend Lee Jessurun -- The Tower of Babel Falls
Enter the pulsating, dystopic world of Arend Lee Jessurun's The Tower of Babel Falls – and realize that world is surrounding us right now. With a brave humanity, Jessurun shows us how to tear it all down.
Enter the pulsating, dystopic world of a land where the corrupt uphold Jesus' name, buoyed by menacing synths and Arend Lee Jessurun's commanding presence – and realize that world is surrounding us right now.
You probably don't need Jessurun to teach you that, of course. As Jessurun's anti-fascist lyrics resound through this album, they create an atmosphere of dread and immediacy that is meant to rouse us from our cocoons of denial and fear. The album's first half evokes a fucked up 1980s, a reminder that the past we may have wished to bury with Reaganism is rearing its head, stronger than ever. These forces culminate in "God Help Us If the Christians Ever Rule," with Jessurun's alienating cosmic background of electronica clashing with their human cry.
The album's midpoint, "The Devil Knows Your Scripture" decries the soul-killing seduction of Big Tech while fading into an ambient background. In the second half, Jessurun's prophetic cries are buoyed by acoustic guitars and a more familiar folk sound: the humanity we all need to reclaim if we're going to get through this.
Whether or not you connect with the Christian tradition (I don't) Babel's core truths are for everyone: we must maintain our humanity in the face of people who deny it. We must care for each other when our systems refuse to. These things have always been true, but the so-called Christians in power are working very, very hard to do the devil's work, and Jessurun shines a powerful light on that truth.
