Synth EP Review: “West of the heat” by Jessy Mach
by Karl Magi
Jessy Mach’s “West of the Heat” creates a cinematic journey down the open road, telling the story of two people running from their past and seeking a new future. It speaks of dreams of fresh opportunities and new beginnings, woven from guitar, synth, and voice.
“6AM Dallas” starts off as a vibrant wash, dawning like a desert morning. Widely vibrating notes are joined by peaceful panpipes that waft past before a heavily pulsating rhythm drives forward. Notes swirl as a gleaming synth carries a melody reflecting hopeful desire, while the underpinnings throb heavily.
The main melody unfolds with glittering splendour, expressing the feeling of an adventure beginning. Exuberant arpeggios spin out while bouncing drums are joined by Jessy Mach’s guitar, filling the music with gentle contemplation balanced by serene panpipes. The guitar twangs before crying with unrestrained fervor, imbuing the music with life beneath Jessy Mach’s skilled fingers.
A steadily pulsing underlayer supports the guitar as it leaps with a feeling of journeying down the open road. Below, dense drums push forward while intertwining synth mingles with the guitar as it climbs upward before subsiding into quiet.
A trance-inducing synth flow skips with circular motion as Jessy Mach’s guitar lacerates the music with accelerative power to open “Hammer down.” The jagged guitar cries out with a motivational melody, painting images of an endless line of black asphalt stretching toward a golden horizon.
Visions of a powerful car eating up the miles while the driver leans back in the seat fill the guitar line as an ethereal synth hovers overhead. The way Jessy Mach sonically illustrates his music is deeply enjoyable. The guitar melody is adventurous and powerful, capturing a sense of open roads and possibility.
Radiant synth shimmer glints like sunlight on the polished paintwork of a sports car before Jessy Mach plays a guitar solo that howls and erupts with speeding strength. It then unwinds with intricacy and all the intensity of a V8 engine belting down the road, before the triumphant main melody charges forward once more and the track flies to its end.
“We’re on the run” begins with prismatic notes cut by piercing light while smoothly slipping underpinnings are joined by Jessica Ess’s impassioned performance, gutsy and full of feeling. The rhythm surges with thunderous force as the vocals ache with need. I am galvanized by the intensely impactful vocal delivery, as Jessica Ess seizes emotion and releases it in waves.
Manu Carré’s saxophone leaps into the music with heartfelt spirit, joined by Jessica Ess’s gripping vocals, propelling the song forward. String-like notes glisten while heavy underpinnings press ahead and the vocals move with conviction, delivering an emotional knockout. Drums hammer as Manu Carré’s saxophone howls with unrestrained, uplifting dynamism before sailing into a solo full of mingled excitement and affection. I enjoy the way the saxophone deepens the song’s feeling.
Jessy Mach’s guitar rips into the music with dramatic complexity, conjuring images of a midnight run and an unstoppable love. The intricacy of his performance is undeniable as he shreds with intensity and heart. Once again, the saxophone melody leaps in with deep desire and Jessica Ess’ voice rises, full of yearning and escape. As the song comes to an end, the saxophone and vocals intertwine.
“You give me lovin’ in the early hours of the morning,” and our storyteller and the song’s subject leave the motel without warning. Now they are “cruising through the streets of fire.” In the twilight, “when the heat of the chase has me feeling like the rules we break never had meaning,” she is reminded of their youth.
“Thought I was born to be a hero, I was born in the sun,” but once the narrator experienced danger in the other person’s shadow, “I knew I was done.” Now they find themselves on the run. “On the boardwalk, in a new disguise,” everything feels magical and she can see it in the song subject’s eyes. She adds, “When you hold me, I forget about the things we left.”
Our storyteller says, “Keep me dancing so I can’t let go when I’m feeling like we lost control.” She adds that “this bad behavior gives me the rush I need to survive.” She exhorts the song’s subject to “ignore the sirens in the rearview, they don’t know it’s us.”
They arrive at their ultimate destination in the sun’s heat. “We are on the run, leave it all behind,” as they experience freedom in their struggle. To conclude, she says, “We’re on the run, tear it all apart, lightning in the dark. We were never yours, we belong to the night.”
Reverberant, sharp notes trickle to commence “Ghosting the law.” The tones tremble into space as a police radio crackles and the rebounding rhythm pushes forward. Flaring accents leap behind the swirling lead synth, adding light while the underpinnings thunder. A broken female voice echoes with eerie tranquility as a radiant melody bursts forth, shining like the early morning sun clearing fog.
Surging bass and thumping drums add propulsion before intensely angular tones resound. The bass begins to undulate, creating anticipation within me. A darker hue fills the music as the hard-edged bass snarls, then a lucid synth spills out clear brightness while the echoing female vocals tremble. Beneath it all, the surging underlayer presses onward as elevated notes exude dawn-like shine and a clean-edged synth revolves. The threatening low end seethes, and the track exhales with its main melody glowing in iridescence.
“Santa Cruz, early morning” begins as the piano drifts with serene grace before the drums land with supportive weight. Dazzling notes pour from the lead synth, evoking fulfillment and elation as the rhythm shapes the music. Synth tones shine with aspirational effulgence above steady underpinnings while twanging guitar adds a subtle funk-inflected edge.
Manu Carré’s saxophone calls out with trembling passion, filling the track with warmth and reflection. His tone is luscious and full, the instrument’s reedy voice crying with unrestrained feeling and capturing me completely.
Jessy Mach’s guitar enters, lofting with freedom and release, dancing beneath his skillful touch. Underneath it all, a solid drum heartbeat throbs steadily as saxophone and guitar weave together in evocative emotion. The track swells to a crescendo as the instruments duet, imbuing the music with a sense of escape before silence falls.
