Review Summary: A loose, meandering thing of beauty.
At just under thirty minutes,
Dominion is the longest piece of music
Jakob have released so far in their career. Despite the length,
Dominion is fairly conventional Jakob, if less structured and refined.
Dominion essentially begins with one melodic idea that sounds like the brother of
Cale:drew's "I Was Hidden" and is explored for approximately five minutes. The rest of the track is devoted to another idea that morphs, expands, and contracts through the use of dynamics, subtle changes in guitar techniques and slight shifts in tonality.
While Jakob's other releases usually feature a number of expansive, guitar-based soundscape tracks spread over an hour or so,
Dominion feels much more loose and personal. The ambient swells, strong rhythms and dense, textural bass parts give way to moments of noise and chaos, all converging to evoke an emotional response of fear, regret, longing, triumph, and hope that manages to feel
physical, not just abstract. The effect is so potent that attempting to translate the experience into words seems futile.
Dominion was recorded during the sessions for
Cale:drew and it wouldn't surprise me if the entire release was just an edited jam session. The record sounds like three musicians who know each other intimately and are allowing a thing of beauty to take place in front of them without interfering or tinkering too heavily.
Dominion, though not a major release, is every bit as wonderful as Jakob's full-length releases and though the sound is familiar, the free-form nature of the composition gives it a feeling that separates it ever so slightly from the other records. A different sort of record, certainly, but one that remains a distinct conglomeration of the three personalities behind it.
